Unlucky Star
by SHfan84
Summary: Kurokona Izumi is a smart high school girl with a haunted past. She dreamed she was a happy girl named Konata, and then awoke to find herself alone. But as characters from her dream start popping up, she must discover how far she will go for friendship.
1. Prologue

Unlucky Star

A fan-made story based on the anime series Lucky Star

Note: I do not own Lucky Star, nor its characters or settings. This story is entirely fan-made.

Kurokona's Anguish

Prologue

If you ask a child who was born blind if he is sad being blind, he will answer "No." Why is this?

It's simple, really. It's because he has never experienced sight; therefore, he does not long for it. He doesn't know what he's missing, so he doesn't desire it.

Now, if you ask me if I'm lonely, I will answer "Yes." Do you know why that is?

It's because I used to have friends, too. I used to be considered "normal." But that was before I became an otaku. An antisocial otaku who had no ambitions, no dreams, and no friends. At least, none _here_.

But that was before I met Kagami.

Truth be told, I didn't even meet her. My other self, Konata Izumi, was the one who found her. Or did she make her…? I don't know. All I know is that it started with a dream, on a night just like any other grey night in this grey life of mine. Only this dream was far from grey.

In this dream, I was a completely different person living a completely different life. To be more accurate, I was living in an otaku's heaven. I had anime, manga, and games, yes. But I also had friends. And even though they were normal, I could geek out in front of them as much as I wanted to. They would just laugh and say, "That's my Konata. My Konata Izumi."

I would always blow off homework, yet would pull all nighters cramming before tests, and I would always pass my classes that way. I didn't even deserve to be in the same grade as Miyuki, with her encyclopedic knowledge of everything from illness to astronomy. But I still managed to keep up. Tsukasa tried her best, but she never had much luck with grades. It was a miracle that she never got held back. And Kagami, always putting work before play, breezed through classes easily. I would always make fun of her for it, but she didn't mind. An otaku's dream…

But that was before my alarm clock shouted at me, "Time's up! It's time to get back to reality, whether you like it or not!"

And just like that, I was pulled from Heaven to Hell in the blink of an eye. No longer was I bright, happy, cheerful Konata Izumi.

Instead, I was now bland, dull, lifeless Kurokona Izumi.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was Thursday morning, which meant less anime and more Algebra at school. I was a 2nd-year, attending high school just like anybody else my age. Just another lonely day with nothing to do…

…or so it would have been.

Instead of daydreaming about Haruhi all day, I couldn't get that dream out of my head. It seemed so real, it was hard to believe that it was just a _dream, _and not an actual experience.

Without thinking about it, I took out a piece of paper and began to move my pencil across it; not drawing, but just idly marking on it. Marking on it as I pondered that dream from last night. In it, I went to Ryouou High School like I do now; I lived in the same house as I live in now; the settings for the dream were identical to the ones I was currently exposed to. The only thing different was the selection of characters within it…

…or was it?

No, it wasn't. I had been somewhere in the dream world that I had never been to in the real world.

Kagami's house.

_Come to think of it, her house was in place of that run-down abandoned house close to my neighborhood _I realized_. The old house that no one's_ _bothered to tear down… the one that no one's lived in for about 10 years now. I only ever heard kids saying it was haunted; I've seen it, but I've never gone in._

I then looked down on my paper, and was shocked to see that in the idle pencil markings I had made, I saw no jumbled heap of graphite.

Instead, I saw Kagami's smiling face staring up at me.

There was no way that it could just be a coincidence. Not with the amount of detail in it. And yet, I had been too busy pondering that dream to pay any attention to what I was doing. So what was going on?

I suddenly felt a weird feeling wash over me, like I was… I don't know how to explain it in a sane way. But I felt as though I was on the boundaries of two alternate dimensions. Like how you feel when you're exhausted, and you're about to fall asleep, but you feel the intersection between dreams and reality for a split second before slipping into a deep slumber. That's how I began to feel.

But this feeling lasted more than a split second, and I was conscious… or at least, I thought so. But I started to feel more and more like nothing was real, and that I was entering a… an alternate reality.

_Like a dream._

The world around me began to slide in and out of focus, weaving like the ripples in a glass of water when someone sets it down on a table. Color began to fade from the classroom, casting everything in a blue tint, and I saw that my peers had been replaced… by none other than my dream companions! There they all were! Tsukasa, Yutaka, Minami, Kagami, Patty, Hiyori, Miyuki, Ayano, Misao, all of them!

I looked around, startled at the abrupt change in atmosphere. I thought that it would help if I were to get up and stretch my legs, so I raised my hand, about to ask Mrs. Takeuchi if I could get a drink of water; only to find another shock when I looked at her.

As it turns out, the changes in identity were not limited to the other students.

"Yes, Konata? Would you like to answer this one?" came a voice; it sounded distant, though it only came from a couple of yards away. It was the kind voice of Nanako Kuroi, in place of Mrs. Takeuchi's stern tone.

_That's right. She was the teacher in my dream_ I assessed.

"Could I… get a drink of water?" I asked the teacher, not even knowing who I was actually asking.

Abruptly, the world fell back into place, and my dream characters disappeared as soon as I heard Mrs. Takeuchi's angry voice. The world stopped weaving, and color returned.

"Fine, but make it quick!"

"Thank you" I said quietly, and stumbled out into the hallway, wondering what in the world was going on.

_That felt way too real. There's no way that it could have been a dream _I thought to myself. _So what was it? A hallucination brought upon by sleep deprivation?_ Well, that had certainly happened to me before, but this one felt… different. Like I was in a whole different world, as opposed to just a minor hallucination.

_Maybe I'm in a lucid dream, and I just don't realize it?_ I considered. I used to be into lucid dreaming, but after a while I had lost interest in it. I knew that I needed to do a reality check to see it this was just a dream or one screwed up day. I looked at my watch. It was about a quarter past eleven. I looked away for five seconds, and then looked back. It was still a quarter past eleven. Once again, just to be sure. A quarter past eleven, just as it had been.

_Well, I'm not dreaming, and it wasn't a hallucination; so what happened? _I wondered. _Am I just crazy?_

I didn't have a good answer to that one. But one thing was certain.

The mind is a strange thing, and can block out any memories of its choice. This is usually used for self-defense; for example, suppressing a memory of witnessing a gruesome murder to avoid traumatizing the conscious mind. But the brain cannot "forget" anything; it's just that different memories are stored in different levels of the subconscious.

In cases of amnesia and suppression of memories, the brain can "transport" these suppressed memories from different levels of the subconscious directly to the conscious in response to certain stimuli (such as looking at the cover of your favorite video game or revisiting the scene of the witnessed murder.)

And now, I was curious as to whether or not my brain would find visiting the old abandoned house that made up Kagami's house in my dream as worthy stimuli. A stimulation for what? I don't know.

But I wanted to know what that was that happened in the classroom, and more about this "dream" I had.

And if that meant breaking into an abandoned house, I'd have no regrets.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Flashlight, because there'll be no power, check._

_Pocket knife, for help in a variety of different scenarios, check._

_Running shoes, in case anyone sees what I'm doing, check._

So I was really crazy enough to do it. I'm no criminal, but I've been on YouTube long enough to know how to break into a place or two. Admittedly, this was the first time I ever used my knowledge of trespassing (and would hopefully be the last), and I didn't have an excuse ready in case I was seen. But I was still going to find a way in.

First, I walked into the backyard, thankful that no one was around to see. I scanned the bottom of the house, and found what I was looking for: a basement window. Everyone around would know that this house was abandoned, so I couldn't just walk in through the front door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked shut; it was almost as if someone was making sure I went into this house. I cautiously slid into the basement.

Next, I scanned the room. Gosh, this place was old. There was an old, musty smell in the room, and the afternoon sun streaming in through the open window illuminated layers of dust in the air. I searched for anything that might help me find out what was going on. All I came up with was an empty gasoline container and an old pocket watch on the ground along with a few empty shelves, so I decided to head upstairs. However, once I reached the top step, the oddity of the situation struck me.

_It's so strange_ I thought to myself. _There are still things lying around like someone lives here, even though it's been abandoned for nearly a decade now. Why hasn't anyone come in, and sold whatever they thought had value?_ _Granted, you won't get much for a gas can, but you _will_ get something for a pocket watch. Won't you?_

Slowly I crept back down the stairs, becoming ever more curious with each step I took. The dust in the air suggested that no one had been in here in a long time. Had anyone even come here at all? Or had everyone simply forgotten about this house's existence? Was this house a worthless hunk of lumber, or was it a sanctuary of forgotten memories?

_No, this place isn't worthless_ I asserted. _There's got to be something here. Something that I'm going to find… whether or not I want to in the end._

I walked over to the pocket watch and picked it up. The watch was bronze, smooth and flat, without a single scratch on it.

_I don't care what you say; this watch would fetch a pretty penny._ I turned it over on its back, and found that it was as smooth on the back as it was on the front. I opened the watch, and found an engraving inside. "When a man lies, he murders some part of the world." The hands were stopped at 11:59.

_What is this?_ I asked myself. _What is this supposed to mean?_

I tried to find a connection between the quote (and the pocket watch itself, for that matter) to what I'd felt in the classroom or my dream, but found nothing. So I put the pocket watch on an empty shelf (I figured I didn't need it) and decided to head upstairs to see what I could find up there.

I started up the stairs again, but when I grabbed the doorknob, I felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu… no, this wasn't déjà vu. I was feeling nostalgia, but I didn't know why.

I was wondering where this feeling was coming from when I suddenly felt like I was on the borderline between two dimensions. What had happened in the classroom was happening again. Color faded from the world as it slid in and out of focus, and I began to feel like I was in a dream.

When the color had completely faded from the world, leaving everything in a grayish-blue tint, I took a deep breath and turned the knob. However, the door was locked. I couldn't stand it anymore. I turned around, ready to climb out the window and run, run away from it all, run away from this horrible feeling that I couldn't take-didn't _want_ to take-

And stood in shock as I stared at the plain wall.

The window was gone, and so was my only escape.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After about an hour of trying to kick the door in and getting no results, I settled for crawling up into a fetal position and wishing that I was someplace far away.

I didn't even want to know what was going on anymore. I didn't want to be in this parallel-freaking-dimension and find out more about that dream. I just wanted to be away from it all. But no, I couldn't escape now. I mean, how do you get to another dimension/state of reality/whatever?

I was in a fetal position right there, at the top of the stairs, squeezing myself as close into the corner as I possibly could. (The stairs were built alongside the wall, so I could really nestle in there.) I stayed that way for a long time, too. An hour, maybe two, maybe four, I don't know.

While I was like that, I suddenly thought about my life. I wasn't just lonely because I was an otaku. For some reason, I began to think about why I was as lonely as I was. I knew the answer better than I'd ever wanted to know.

About 2 years ago, my mom got a paraesophogeal hernia. This wasn't an average hernia, either. It compressed her stomach and put pressure on her lungs, causing her to stop breathing whenever the damn thing wanted her to stop. It rearranged her entire organ system, making her throw up all night, every night. There was nothing I could do for her; just stand there in the bathroom door, watching her puke, wondering why this had to happen to me, wondering _why_ I couldn't do anything.

Let me tell you something else, too. There were no good doctors in my town. Dr. Makino was definitely the worst. He made you wait in a waiting room for a minimum of two hours every time you saw him, only to actually speak with you for a maximum of four minutes; I timed him every time I went up there with mom, so I should know. And when you finally did see him, that prick wouldn't even listen to you! He just kept writing on his clipboard, nodding his head like he was listening. He told my mom she was stressed, and that she just needed to take nerve pills! Hell, it was _us_ who found out that it was a hernia of some kind, when a certified doctor couldn't even do that much!

She died after one long year of pain and suffering. My dad's just some alcoholic living god-knows-where who left mom and me when I was a baby, and I wouldn't stay with him if you paid me. My grandparents were long dead; my grandpa, who I was close to when he was alive, lost to lung cancer when I was seven, and my grandmother was in a car wreck before I was born. The closest relative I had was my Aunt Ayako. She wouldn't care if I got raped in an alley, if I wound up in jail, if I came home 2 hours late, or if I didn't come back at all. Needless to say, I was pretty depressed since it all started, to say the least.

It was at school after this had all started when I began to see my classmates' true colors. Nobody would talk to me because I always had a frown on my face. I lost every last one of my so-called "friends" within 2 months of my personal hell. People talked bad about me whenever they pleased, even if I was right in front of them. They accused me of being emo, cutting my wrists, drinking, doing drugs, you get the picture. I never even did any of that, but did that make a difference to them? Not one bit. I realized then the true nature of the human race.

People instinctively assume that they know everything about any and every situation they come across. I didn't tell anyone at school about my mom, and so everyone thought I was acting emo just to get attention. Screw them, anyway. Most didn't even believe I really went to mom's funeral, and thought I was just using a lie to get out of school for a few days. They can burn.

But I do know that I liked video games and anime before mom got her hernia. The reason I became a full-time otaku was that after she died, I had nothing left but anime, manga, and video games. Nothing. My life was in shambles.

And after all that crap I've been putting up with 24/7, now I'm caught in another dimension. Some people say it can always be worse. I say can it.

Finally, after thinking all this through, I raised my head up and scanned the room uninterestedly once more. Yep, everything was still colorless, but now the world wasn't weaving in and out of focus. Maybe I'm getting used to this world? I don't know.

The window was still gone, but sometime after I had set my head down between my knees, a hole had appeared on the wall to the left of the now-windowless-wall. It hadn't been there before, I know it; neither before nor after I switched worlds, until now. But it was definitely big enough for me to squeeze through.

_Okay, first windows start disappearing, and now holes start popping out of nowhere. What's next, a trip to the moon?_

I considered just staying where I was for the rest of my life, however long that may be, and remaining in a fetal position. But then I realized that, since there was nothing left for me in the basement, I might as well keep going forward, and see what this crazy world had to offer.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The hole was just a _little_ bit taller than I was (5'7) and just wide enough for me to squeeze through. It was pitch-black beyond the hole, so I turned on my flashlight and looked inside.

Through the hole was a long set of stairs, which kept going down; almost as if into the very depths of Hell. The stairs and surrounding walls were all a dull, lifeless grey, and they looked to be made of concrete. My flashlight revealed what was only about 5 feet in front of me, and the stairs kept descending into darkness beyond the light. I slid through the hole, and followed them.

There was a heavy silence in the air beyond the hole; it felt almost as if the natural silence was threatening, like something was wrong. I crept down those stairs for a long time, though I'm not sure exactly how long. I continued walking, with no end in sight, enveloped in darkness.

Finally, I came to a door at the bottom of the stairs. It was an old, corroded door, with flecks of rust here and there. The paint was peeling, and it had a putrid smell which I had no name for. There was one word ominously painted in big, white, chaotic scribbles on the door: Abyss.

_What is this?_

Beyond the door, there were still no sources of light. I lifted my flashlight, and saw such a disturbing sight that I froze in place when I saw it, unable to breathe.

It was a room, filled with large sculptures of varying things. Only these sculptures weren't made of clay. They were made of flesh, and all of them were coated in bright, red blood.

There was a couch, and a person laying down on it. One of their arms was lying on the floor, and the way their head was tilted seemed to imply that they were unconscious. There was a bottle on the ground near their hand, as if they had dropped it when they passed out. There was also a coffee table near the couch, and a _squirming_ sculpture of a bloody baby trapped underneath it. This went against every law of nature that I know. This was unexplainable. This was impossible.

This was the reason why my mom and grandpa always hated my father. The reason why he left us to live without him. I had only heard this story once from my mom, but now it was being shown to me right before my eyes.

When I was a baby, and mom left for work one day, dad was in charge of taking care of me. Since dad had been drinking since he was fourteen, he naturally had some booze in the house. Sometime when mom was gone, he decided to open a can. One can led to another, and before you knew it he was stoned on the couch, when he was supposed to be taking care of me.

Eventually, Grandpa came over because he wanted to see me. When he found the door locked, and no one answered, he became worried. He went around to the kitchen's window, broke it open, and climbed in. When he went into the living room, he found dad out cold on the couch and me trapped under the coffee table; squirming, crying, puking, and trying to get out. Dad said he didn't remember this at all, but after it happened mom kicked him out of the house. She never spoke to him since.

But why was this scene being reenacted before me, in this gruesome way?

I turned my eyes away from the scene, and saw a door on the right side of the room. I debated with myself on whether or not to go through the door, potentially exposing myself to more traumatizing scenes, when I heard footsteps in the room I was in. I was about to turn off the flashlight and hide myself in the darkness, but before I could the light caught someone darting for the door.

It was Kagami! There was no mistaking those long, purple pigtails and that joyful face. She opened the door, gestured for me to follow, and ran through.

"Wait!" I shouted, running after her. Kagami always made me happy; she could make this all better.

I threw open the door, ready to indulge myself in the radiant beams of Kagami's warm smile; only to find an even more gruesome sight than in the last room.

When I flung open the door, I stared right into the face of a pulsing lump of flesh on the wall, in the shape of a stomach being blocked off and constricted by a piece of muscle. To the right of it was a large hunk of a grey substance in one of two large, purple heaps of flesh. Once again, everything was almost completely covered in blood.

I recognized both of them immediately. The one on the left was mom's hernia, and the one on the right was grandpa's lung cancer.

A drop of blood dripped off of the hernia and onto the floor.

This was too much to bear. I was in Hell, being shown my greatest fears and darkest memories. This wasn't just a parallel universe which just anyone could stumble into. This was personal.

Once again, there was a door, this time on the left wall. I realized that if I were to step beyond that door, then there was no way to guess what I would find. I reached out my hand to the knob, and slowly opened the door. Maybe I wouldn't know what I'd find, but did I really have a choice?


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

This time, I was in a dark room with a spotlight shining down on a fine grand piano. There were no disturbing sights. Just a piano. That was all.

I closed the door behind me and slowly walked to the piano. The door creaked for a few seconds as it slid into place. After inspecting the piano, I found that it was a Wurlitzer; a good one, too. I sat down on the bench, and placed my hands above her fine keys. I knew how to read notes, but I could only play songs well when I had them completely memorized.

When I moved into Ayako's house, I brought my keyboard with me. A few days after mom died, I started playing mom's favorite song: River Flows in You, by Yiruma. Also known as Bella's Lullaby from Twilight. I couldn't say I was a fan of the series, but a good song is a good song.

Anyway, Ayako didn't like the noise, so she stormed up to the spare bedroom I was staying in, took my keyboard, and threw it on the ground; shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces. The only thing she had to say for herself was, "Now get a broom and sweep up this damn mess!"

That was the last time I'd ever played a musical instrument.

I closed my eyes, took a breath, and started into the song. The piano's quiet melody filled the room, and created an almost peaceful atmosphere. I continued with the song until it was completely finished.

Whenever mom was depressed, I always played her that song; it always made her feel better, albeit only a little bit. But since my keyboard got busted, I considered not ever playing again on any piano. It only hurt me when I remembered her, and it wasn't like playing would please the dead.

I got up, shone my flashlight around the room, and saw yet another door. But this one was slightly ajar, and who should I see peeking her head out but Kagami. She giggled and beckoned me forth. I figured that I couldn't turn back, seeing as how the window back up in the basement was gone, so I went to the door. As I approached, Kagami closed the door, and I could hear the sounds of her footsteps and her happy laugh echoing and then fading as she ran beyond the door.

I reached the door and opened it. There were no more doors in this room.

Instead, I was in my old room.

It was undeniable. The computer, sitting on the desk in the corner; the bed, sitting against the center of the wall; the ceiling fan, slowly and silently spinning above my head. The sky was black and there was no moon out; however, moonlight was streaming through my window, illuminating my room as it had done so many times.

I walked over to the nightstand by my bed, and saw a picture that would never be.

It was a picture of my family. My mom, happy and healthy, smiled at the camera as she held me in a joyful hug. Next to her was my grandpa, as excited as I'd ever seen him. Standing right by his side was an elderly woman, who I assumed was my grandma. And right next to me, with his arm around my shoulder, was a man who fit my mom's description of my father. One big, happy family.

I picked up the picture and angrily threw it on the ground, breaking the glass frame into a thousand shards of crystal.

I then collapsed on my bed, sobbing uncontrollably, until I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 6

Konata's Curiosity

Chapter 6

The first time you ask a child who was born blind if he knows he is blind, he will answer "No." Why is this?

It's simple, really. It's because he has never experienced sight; therefore, he doesn't know what sight is. He doesn't know what he's missing, so as a result he doesn't desire it.

Now, if you ask me if I'm lonely, I will answer "No." Do you know why that is?

It's because I know what friends are; though I admit, I lost all of my old friends after I became an otaku. A reclusive otaku who had no motivation, no goals, and no friends. Or rather, none _left_.

But that was before I found Kagami.

Truth be told, I didn't even find her. My other self, Kurokona Izumi, was the one who led me to her… gave me motivation to look for her… I don't know. All I know is that it started with a dream, on a night just like any other dull night in this now-dull life of mine. Only this dream was far from dull.

In this dream, I was a completely different person, living a completely different life. To be more accurate, I was living in an otaku's hell. I had anime, manga, and games, yes. But that was it. I had lost all of my friends, was losing my family, and was derived of every bit of happiness I ever knew. People didn't like my depression. When they saw me, they'd always say, "There she is. Emo girl," when I wasn't even emo.

I would always blow off homework and would never study for tests, yet I continued passing on to the next grade. Though I didn't study, I was pretty well educated, with almost encyclopedic knowledge of everything from illness to astronomy. But I still had no motivation to use it, because of my happiness-depleting situation. Some of my tormentors tried and some didn't, but they all apparently had luck with grades because they all kept on passing. It was a total pain that none of them ever got held back. Every day of my life, the same pains and tortures awaited me; both at school, and at home. An otaku's nightmare…

But that was before my alarm clock shouted at me, "Time's up! It's time to get back to reality, whether you like it or not!"

And just like that, I was pulled from Hell to Heaven in the blink of an eye that day. No longer was I bland, dull, lifeless Kurokona Izumi.

Instead, I was now bright, happy, cheerful Konata Izumi.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was Friday morning, which meant less gaming time and more history at school. It was just another day in my life-

Or so it should have been. But no matter how much Haruhi I tried daydreaming about, I couldn't stop thinking about that dream. Oh, well. I had to go to school anyway, so I may as well get there right away and chat with Kagami. I could take my manga with me, anyway.

As I was walking, I continued pondering my dream as Kurokona. I just couldn't get it to stay out of my head.

_Why did I have that horrific dream?_ I questioned myself. _And is it just me… or have I had that dream before?_

_Forget it._ I told myself. For once so far today, I succeeded.

"Yo, Konata!" Kagami greeted me when I arrived at school. She was reading some novel even as she spoke, but she still had a warm smile on her face.

"Hey, Kagami." I said as I took a seat by her. Tsukasa was sitting on Kagami's other side, finishing her algebra homework from last night. Oh yeah, we had homework.

"You're here early. Did you decide to start committing to your studies?" Kagami asked me.

"Nope."

"Of course not. But really, why are you here so early?"

"I just came by to talk with everyone," I replied.

"Hey, sis? Could you help me with this problem?" Tsukasa asked Kagami.

"I'm reading. You should've done it yourself last night, and asked me for help then."

"Oh, please, sis?"

"Fine. Konata, did you do yours?"

Urk.

"I'll help you both –again-, but you guys really need to start committing more to your future. Konata, get out your worksheet."

I quickly did as Kagami instructed.

"So, if L equals any real number and L squared equals L times L, then you substitute L times L in here. Still with me, Tsukasa? Then you divide both sides by L, and - Konata, what are you doing?"

I had crawled up on my chair, with my knees touching my chest. I leaned in closer to Kagami, and whispered,

"I am L."

I couldn't have resisted even if I'd tried.

One bonk to the head and a long lecture from Kagami later, I got my homework finished. It was then that I began wondering where Miyuki was. I guessed she was sick at home.

"So, you came by early to spend more time with us?" Tsukasa asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "I had a really bad dream last night, and I just wanted to see everyone."

Kagami sounded concerned. "Are you all right? What was it about?"

"I dreamed that my whole life had been a dream, and that none of you guys ever existed. It was so scary. I dreamed I was all alone."

Kagami's eyes widened when I said that, and she looked concerned for me. "Oh, Konata!" Kagami gave me a big, reassuring hug. "It's all right. We're not going anywhere without you."

"I know, Kagami. I'm all right. But it had seemed so real, it's hard to believe it was just a dream, and not an actual experience. But I had thought the same of my real life in my dream. So my dream self thought that my real self was too real to be a dream? …Was that because I'm real?

"Wait. If I think that my dream of my life being a dream was too real, does that mean that I'm in a dream right now? Kinda works both ways, huh?

"Or maybe it's like in a manga, where someone has a lot of dreams about being different people. Maybe I'm going to dream that I'm someone other than Kurokona tonight. Or maybe I'll wake up soon as Kurokona, and then have a dream that I'm someone else. Or maybe I'll wake up as someone else, and realize that Konata and Kurokona are both dream characters, and that I'm actually some girl named Konakulu who keeps on having a bunch of different dreams about being different people."

"I can tell that you're all right now. Believe me, I can tell," was the only thing Kagami had to say to my rant. Well, it made sense to me.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After school, Kagami invited me to hang out at her house for a while.

"That sounds like fun! Having Kona-chan over," Tsukasa agreed.

"Sounds good… but I wonder…"

"What?" Kagami asked.

I turned away from her with a smirk on my face.

"Is Kagami inviting me over because she's lonely…?" I teased her.

"Do you wanna come over or not?" she asked angrily.

I gave my dad a call and he said it was alright with him as long as I was home by eight. With that being said, I went in, took my shoes off, and prepared to utterly dominate whatever game Kagami challenged me to.

Half an hour of combo breaking and shameless winning later, I started thinking about my dream again. I could never get it out of my head no matter how hard I tried, so I figured I might as well think it through to my mind's content. First, I found myself asking the question, _"What was and wasn't the same between the dream and real life?"_

_Well, the characters were different… and so was the mood…_

And then it hit me. There was one place that I had been to in the dream world that I had never been to in the real world.

Kagami's basement.

In the dream I had got in through a window outside, but there was one locked door inside, which led to the rest of the house. I decided to ask Kagami about it.

"Hey Kagami?" I started off.

"What?" she asked, not looking away from the screen.

"Do you guys have a basement?"

Kagami seemed to freeze for just a split-second before answering. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Because I dreamed that you did." I answered. "It got me to thinking that if you did, I've never been in it. Could I take a look around?"

Kagami hesitated. She finally said, "Sure, if you really want to."

"Thanks. Where's it at?"

"Here, I'll show you."

Kagami led me downstairs, and showed me that it was right under the stairs; it was right where a cupboard would usually be. I opened the door and ventured forwards, Kagami right behind me, and Tsukasa tagging along. I flipped on the light switch, and instantly froze in place.

The basement was exactly identical to the way I had dreamed it.

"Kona-chan, what's wrong?" Tsukasa asked when she saw I was uneasy.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that all the dust is bothering my nose."

"Yeah, no one's been in here for a while," Kagami said. "So you just want to look around?"

"Yeah," was my only reply.

I first went over to the wall where the hole had appeared in my dream. Instead, it was just a solid wall now. I lightly tapped my fist on it once to confirm my observation.

"There was a HOLE here. It's gone now."

"Is that another game reference?" Kagami asked me annoyedly.

I continued looking around the basement, brushing off Tsukasa's "what are you looking for?" with a "just anything" response. I noticed that the window that I used to get in was there, but closed.

"Are you done yet?"Kagami asked a few seconds later.

"No," I replied.

"Come on. Let's just get back to playing games."

"Why?" I asked. "Is there something here you don't want me to see?"

I was just teasing, but Kagami's expression told me there was. She quickly looked down and away, hiding her face. Instead of affirming my suspicion, she just said,

"No. I just want to get back to having fun."

Was it just me, or was something wrong?

I finally made my way to an empty shelf, and looked on it. I then felt my heart freeze in my chest.

The bronze pocket watch which I had placed on this shelf in my dream was sitting right where I had put it. And there was certainly no mistaking it; it was the very same bronze, smooth, and flat pocket watch. I slowly reached for it, ready to open it and read the quote.

Abruptly, I felt it. It was coming.

I could feel the world beginning to take on a dream-like stance.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The world began to slowly weave in and out of focus. It started picking up speed. I looked at Kagami and Tsukasa, not knowing what I'd see, and found that they had disappeared. I was alone.

Everything was being shown in a crimson, blood-red tint. My head began pulsing, throbbing in time with the jagged sliding of the world. Each throb hurt more than the last. Before, this dream feeling had felt relaxed, though too bizarre to let me enjoy it. This one was different. This one was painful.

The pulsing quickened, and with it, the pain. I fell to my knees, clutching my head and screaming in agony. The pulses of my setting were suddenly acquainted with the sound of a heart beat for every throb. I couldn't take this. The world began heating up, and I began sweating. Whether I would go insane, my head would explode, or I would cook in here first, I had no way of knowing.

Then, Aunt Ayako suddenly stormed in.

"Shut up, damn it! If you're hurt, go to the hospital! Just be quiet already!"

I couldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried. Ayako began closing in.

"I said shut up already! Can't I ever get any peace? Just get out of my house; I can't stand to look at you! I don't even know what kind of creature you are, but I do know that you should never have been brought into this world!"

Tears were streaming down my face, and I was close to fainting. Ayako was now standing over me, and she lifted her clenched fist. I prepared to suffer her anger as well as the pain I was already in.

Then, as if suddenly sailing out of a whirlwind, everything stopped. The throbs slowly died down, the temperature lowered, and the red tint was fading. Ayako was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Everything was being enveloped in darkness-including myself.

I felt myself falling. From where or to where, I did not know.

_Konata… Konata…_

I closed my eyes, and let a calming relaxation take me over.

_Konata…_

Everything was fading, and myself with it.

"Konata!"

My eyes snapped open.

I was lying down in a bed. Kagami was leaning over me, putting a wet washcloth on my forehead. Tsukasa was standing behind her, watching nervously.

"Mmm… Kagami? What happened?" I asked drowsily.

"I'd appreciate it if you told me. What's wrong with you?"

"What did I do?"

Kagami's brow furrowed, and she looked seriously concerned.

"You fell down when we were downstairs. We ran over to you, and you were holding your head and sweating. You were crying, too. We couldn't snap you out of it, and you lost consciousness a few seconds afterwards."

"Are you all right now?" Tsukasa asked me.

"Yeah… I think so." Suddenly, I remembered I had to get home.

"What time is it?" I asked them.

"Let's see…" Tsukasa looked at her watch. "It's half past eleven." Oh, boy.

"Crap, I've got to get home before Dad kills me! Kagami, Tsukasa, thanks for taking care of me."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a bit longer? You need rest," Kagami said.

"No, that's okay. I'm feeling a little better now, anyways. But thanks, seriously."

"Well… okay. Bye, Konata."

Kagami helped me up, and Tsukasa held the door for me. After thanking them again and reassuring them that I was fine, I started home while asking myself, "what just happened?" the whole way there.

When I got home, Dad was standing in front of the door. He opened his mouth, about to scold me, but I must have looked like a mess because he saw that something was wrong. He closed his mouth and looked at me concernedly.

"Hey, Konata? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, Dad. Don't worry. I just…"

"What?" he asked. I decided to hurry and cut to the chase.

"I passed out at Kagami's house."

Well, that did it. It took a full twenty minutes of reassuring him that I was fine just to convince him that I didn't need to go to the hospital. Not that it bugged me; I was grateful for such a caring dad. Even so, he would blow a problem out of proportion much more often than you'd think.

"Dad, I think I'm just going to go to bed now," I told him.

"Alright, hurry on. You need your rest."

I walked up to my room, Dad behind me the whole time, and got in bed. I was too worn out to change into my pajamas. Dad tucked me in; it didn't bother me. He kissed me good night, turned off the light, and even left the door open a crack. Just like old times. But I didn't have time to reminisce.

I don't know much about psychology, but I thought I may be screwed up in the head. But if that were the case, then it would look like I would need something to drive me nuts. I couldn't think of anything that would that had happened to me before my dream, though.

But I had found connections between my dream and reality. Even though what I saw when it happened was different based on who I was, I had been linking both worlds via these dream-like sequences. I compared them; Kurokona's were filled with happy characters from my life, who could make anyone happy, whereas mine were filled with depressing aspects of Kurokona's life. What was up with that?

Besides that, I had seen exactly what Kagami's basement looked like in the dream. I'm not good at math, but I know the odds of that happening are really slim. Add the fact that I knew where the pocket watch was, and you've got impossible. So both worlds were completely identical regarding location? It looked like it.

And that pocket watch; what was that about? I couldn't find any connections from my perspective or Kurokona's. I moved it as Kurokona and found it where I put it later as Konata, so it proved that I could move objects from both worlds by moving them in just one. Was its sole purpose to prove that?

Wait. When I went in the basement, the window was closed. I searched my memory, and realized that I hadn't closed it as Kurokona before it disappeared. What was the difference between the window and the watch that set them apart? Was it that the watch really did have a deeper connection?

Let's see… the watch had an engraving inside of it. What was it again? "When a man lies, he murders some part of the world"? Yeah, that was it. But what was that supposed to mean?

There was something else that that I couldn't get out of my head: after I asked if they had a basement, Kagami started acting strange. She hesitated before answering my questions, she seemed like she was hiding something, and it seemed like she was trying to rush me out of the basement. She said she "just wanted to go back to having fun." Maybe it was just my imagination, but that seemed too vague for Kagami.

The questions were piling up faster than I could count, and I didn't have an answer to a single one of them. I was tired anyway, so I figured I might as well ponder everything after a good night's sleep.


	11. Chapter 10

Kurokona's Despair

Chapter 10

At first I thought my dream as Konata was my only sanctuary from this world; maybe it wasn't reality, but it was happiness.

Now I wasn't so sure.

When I woke up, I was face-down and I knew I was Kurokona. I didn't know where I was or how long I'd been there. Aside from my dream as Konata, my mind was blank.

Then it all started coming back to me. The Abyss. All the pain and torture I'd seen there: seeing the coffee table, the hernia, the cancer, playing the piano, and crying myself to sleep after breaking the picture.

My eyes widened with terror upon remembering, and I was afraid to lift my head to see where I was. But I knew I had to; I couldn't just lay there forever without knowing where I was, however appealing that idea may be.

As I slowly raised my head, I saw sunlight streaming in through the window. I looked around, and found that I was in my room at Ayako's. I was out of the Abyss, as though it were nothing more than a bad dream.

I slowly got up, and found myself already in my sailor fuku school uniform. Was that because I fell asleep with it still on as Konata? Oh, well. If I had to go to school, I guessed it saved me the trouble of changing. Speaking of which, what day was it, anyway?

I turned on my computer and read in the corner "Sat. 6/16, 8:33 A.M." Sweet, no school today. I could do whatever I wanted to do.

But what did I want to do?

I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to find the truth behind my dreams.

If I let it alone, I was sure the reality intersection thing would happen again, regardless of where I was. The first time it happened was in the classroom, when I was idly marking on a piece of paper and not paying attention to what I was doing. I had drawn a flawless picture of Kagami; the only problem was that I wasn't trying to draw anything. The picture just appeared on my paper, and the feeling came immediately afterwards. So if it could happen at any time given the current circumstances, I realized that I might be able to end this if I learned the truth.

I figured that, in order to keep everything straight, I would give the intersecting realities feeling a name. I thought that "dream blurring" would be appropriate, because it really was two dreams blurring. The only question was which dream was reality?

I truly had no answer. I was inclined to say that my world was real, because I was conscious and felt emotions. But that was also true when I was Konata. Were we both dreams of someone else… or even of each other? Were either of us even really dreams, and not figments? There was only one way to find that out:

To learn the truth.

But where was I going to start?

I guessed I could have gone back to Kagami's house and looked around some more, but after the Abyss I was reluctant to just waltz into my personal nightmare all over again. I didn't have anywhere else to go, though. Seeing as how I could look around the rest of the house to see if there was anything else noteworthy and then come back to the pocket watch, I figured returning to Kagami's was still a pretty strong lead.

I went downstairs and left the house. Ayako never wanted to know where I was going if I just left the house, so her neglect worked to my advantage for once. If anyone learned that I was breaking into an old, abandoned house, it would make her look bad. But she can't prevent what she doesn't know.

As I walked, I began thinking about some of the cause-and-effect chain reactions that had been happening ever since Thursday morning. There were too many to count, but the one that really stood out was Konata's dream blur.

Konata's dream blur was filled with pain, both physically and emotionally. Ayako was even thrown in; it really was the whole nine yards. But the dream blur started immediately after I had picked up the pocket watch. I found a connection between the worlds, and I began to suffer because of it. It looked like something either didn't want me to see that watch, or something didn't want me to find anything to help me learn what was going on.

Well, I was about to piss something off.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After I arrived at Kagami's house, I went into the backyard and looked for the basement window like last time.

Instead, all I found was a wall where the window would have been.

It looked like the dream blur didn't affect the whole world at once; it just enveloped certain areas, like the dream blur was a "bubble" around the area, which could appear or disappear at any time. Or it could have been that it really did affect the whole world, and was starting to take over and replace small areas of reality with the dream world. If that was the case, then it was starting at Kagami's house.

Either way, the window was gone, just like in the first dream blur.

If I had to find another way in, fine. I started walking past the house, acting casual as if I had done so every day of my life. After looking both ways to make sure no one was around to watch me, I walked onto the porch, then to the front door and turned the knob. I was ready to search the house and find the truth.

With my luck, of course, the door was locked. I knew how to pick locks, though. I looked down towards the keyhole to see how big the hole was, and found quite a surprise.

There was no keyhole on the door.

I walked back off of the porch and looked up at the house. I then noticed that all the windows were gone. I was out of ideas. There was literally no way into the house.

How could all the windows have disappeared? Was it that whoever controlled these things knew that I would find something in the house, so they sealed it off? And if so, then what was I up against?

Well, either way, I couldn't get in the house. Where else could I go?

The first dream blur happened in the school. Was it worth a trip back there? It was Saturday, so there wouldn't be anyone to stop me from looking around wherever. But how would I get in? The place would be locked up, and it would be better to not commit any more felonies than I had to.

I couldn't think of anywhere else I could go. Was I missing something?

I've gotten in this house two ways; through a window and through the front door. There were no other doors, and the rest of the windows were gone. How else do you get into a house?

It looked like there was nothing left for me to do here, and I had nowhere else to go. Nowhere but my house. God, I felt so helpless.

I made my way home, pondering my next move the entire way back. If I couldn't do anything here, maybe I could if I went back to sleep. "Learn more about the dream by being in the dream" seemed like good logic, so I decided to take a nap when I got back.

I opened the door and looked around the house. Thankfully, Ayako was out. She must be out drinking again. She did that often, and I was glad I didn't have to see her all the time.

I walked up the stairs to my room, went in, and collapsed on the bed. I didn't even bother changing out of my uniform. I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come. I was surprisingly tired.

I could feel myself nodding off. All the stress from my troubles was leaving me, and I lost myself in the darkness. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the door open and then shut. Ayako must be back.

I could hear footsteps. Were they getting louder? Was Ayako coming up to my room, ready to shout at me again? Telling me to stop being the lazy waste of skin I am and go do the chores? Well, let the bitch scream all she wants to. I'm too tired to get up now, so tough.

Wait. These footsteps weren't Ayako's. These were lighter, softer-sounding footsteps. They sounded familiar… but whose were they? A cat burglar? No, they were too loud. Besides, it was a sunny Saturday morning; I doubted anyone would try to break in now. Was I dreaming all of this?

They were coming closer to my door. They then opened it, and I heard them stepping inside. What did they want from me? I guessed I would find out soon enough. If they could wake me up, anyway. I heard familiar voices downstairs. They were chatting and laughing, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

In my confusion, I started feeling a sensation that I had no name for. No, that wasn't right… this familiar feeling of being in two worlds… what did I call it?

The dream blur.

I shot my eyes open, suddenly fully awake. The voices downstairs were my dream companions. I tried to sit up in bed, but I was quickly pushed back down. I looked up.

I stared into Kagami's deep, sorrowful eyes.

The sunlight streaming in through the window bounced off the razor-sharp machete she was holding to my throat.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I tried to scream, but Kagami was too fast. She shot her free hand forwards and clasped it to my mouth. I couldn't breathe.

"I'll take my hand off if you swear not to scream."

I fervently nodded as much as I could without letting the blade slit my throat.

She kept her word, and took her hand off my mouth. She kept the blade on my neck.

"W-w-what the hell…?" was all I could manage.

Kagami looked down on me. Her eyes were brimming with tears. What on earth was she doing?

"Kona, I care about you. Really, I do."

"T-then what… why are you…?"

"If you want to live, do what I say."

Her voice broke on "live."

What was going on? I could clearly hear Kagami. She didn't sound far away. I looked around the room. Everything was in a blue tint like the dream blurs, but the world wasn't weaving in and out of focus. It was perfectly still. Perfectly… normal. The image of betrayed reality it created was enough to make my blood run cold.

"Kona, I want you to forget about all of this. Just stop chasing answers."

She wanted me to what?

"About the dream blurs. Forget about it all. Come stay with me instead. Whenever you wake up as Kurokona, just go back to sleep. We can have fun forever."

"But Kagami…"

"I'll do whatever you want me to!"

Her tears began falling.

"I'll go with you every time you go to Gamer's and Comp-Fest. I'll laugh at all the manga references you make. I'll play games with you until one of us passes out. Just come back!"

"But this world is-"

"Forget about this world! It's not fun anyway, right? Who cares what happens here, as long as you're happy?"

"Well, what about that dream blur I had as Konata? I sure wasn't happy then. And if I find the truth, then they may stop."

"No! I'll make them stop!"

"How will you do that?"

Kagami looked away from me, unable to meet my eyes any longer. The silence hung in the air.

"Please…"

Kagami started sobbing. She tried to hold it back, but couldn't. What was going on? Who was I? Where was I? And what was Kagami trying so passionately to accomplish? She looked back at me.

"I'm your best friend. Would I ever do anything to hurt you?"

I glanced down at the machete that was still on my neck. I figured my gaze would suffice as my answer.

"Okay, so this looks bad. But it's only for the best for you. Really, it is."

"Why don't you want me to pursue the dream blurs?"

"All I can say is that if you continue trying to solve the mystery, you will end up unhappy. I'd rather die than see that."

"If I do continue, will you kill me?"

She looked away again. She didn't answer. Was she saying she'd kill me so I wouldn't feel any pain?

"I'm going now."

Kagami finally set me free and began walking to the door.

"What…?"

"I've told you all there is to tell. I have a feeling you'll keep it in mind."

And with that, Kagami turned around and began walking down the hallway. As she did, the dream blur began disappearing. Color was returning, and the voices of my other dream friends downstairs began to fade. Kagami had vanished before she even got to the end of the hall, like an angel of death, toying with her prey before she grabs their souls with her dark claws.

Color had returned to the world now. I felt lightheaded, and the world was quickly spinning above my head. I quickly got up out of my bed and ran to the bathroom. I flung open the door, hit the light switch, and looked in the mirror.

The pale, quivering face of Konata stared back at me. I grabbed my long hair and looked at a few strands. They were Kurokona's black on my side, but Konata's blue in the mirror. What was going on?

Suddenly, a message written in blood began slowly seeping out of the mirror, spanning the whole top of the cursed piece of glass.

_Ignorance is bliss._

The blood wouldn't stop flowing. Soon it covered the whole mirror. I started to lose consciousness and fell, landing on the cold bathroom floor. The last thing I remembered was seeing the blood trickle down over the already full sink and onto the floor, spreading across the bathroom.


	14. Chapter 13

Konata's Suspicion

Chapter 13

At first I thought my dream as Kurokona was the only time I would ever spend feeling negative; maybe it wasn't reality, but it was too convincing to keep that in mind when it happened.

Now I wasn't so sure.

When I woke up, I was face-down and I knew I was Konata. I didn't know where I was or how long I'd been there. My mind was blank.

Then it all started coming back to me. Kagami and the machete. All the pain and torture I'd seen in her eyes, begging me to leave the truth alone. The message in blood, spouting from the mirror, pooling down on the floor, right next to me, never ending…

My eyes widened with terror upon remembering, and I was afraid to lift my head to see where I was. But I knew I had to; I couldn't just lay there forever without knowing where I was, however appealing that idea may be.

As I slowly raised my head, I saw sunlight streaming in through the window. I looked around, and found that I was on the bathroom floor. The blood was nowhere to be seen, as though it were nothing more than a bad dream.

I slowly stood up, knees shaking, and looked at the mirror. According to the mirror, I was Konata. I grabbed some strands of my hair and checked. They said the same.

I remained fixed in my position, staring at myself in the mirror, waiting for it to happen again. But it never did. Would it? Or was it crazy for someone to stare at their mirror, waiting for blood to come out? Well, I had special circumstances. Lucky me. I continued to stare intently at the mirror, waiting, waiting for it to come back-

The phone suddenly rang downstairs. I jumped in place, frozen in fear.

_It's just the phone_ I told myself. _Calm down._

I went down the stairs to the living room. It looked like Dad was out. What day was it, anyway? I walked to the crying phone, and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked the receiver.

"Hey, Konata!" It was Kagami. "Good morning!"

"Yeah, good morning. What day is it?"

"What, didn't you check? Gosh, if it was a weekday you wouldn't even know that you'd be ditching! You need to start keeping better track of time."

"Look, I just woke up. I was finishing up in the bathroom when you called."

That's one way to put it.

"Oh… well, it's Sunday, almost 9 o'clock."

"Thanks. So what did you want?"

"I just wanted to know if you were feeling alright. You know… after the whole basement thing…"

Kagami was as concerned as ever. She couldn't possibly be as menacing as she was in my dreams. I chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, I slept last night."

…I think.

"Well, do you want to hang out today?" Kagami asked.

"Well, Dad's gone… It'd be hard for me to get his permission now."

"Did he leave a note?"

"Let me look around for one."

Sure enough, I found a note on the kitchen table.

_Gone to see the new Gundam movie, __Awakening of the Trailblazer__. Be back later. Hang out with friends if you want, but if so leave a note. Love you. Dad._

I went back to the phone.

"Yeah, he left a note. He said I could go out with you guys if I wanted. So where to?"

"Do you want to go to Gamer's?"

"Kagami… Gamer's…?"

"I-I just want to look at a new game."

"Hmmm? What was it called?" I teased her.

"Uh… um… the new Higurashi visual novel. Matsurobayoni-hen."

"Matsuribayashi-hen, released on August 13th, 2006. The only thing new about it is the English translation and localization by MangaGamer, set for release on July 15th, 2010."

"…you know, your knowledge of video games scares me. Do you even have time to eat after you research this stuff?"

"Sometimes."

"Well, I thought you might like me to go with you every once in a while. Meet up at the station now?"

"Sure. I can't wait to see you guys. Especially Yuki-chan. It's been a while since I last saw her."

"Oh… Konata, there's something I need to tell you. I'll tell you now, so you don't have your hopes up. Miyuki moved yesterday."

What? Miyuki's gone? Miyuki couldn't have gone. Surely that can't be?

"…She moved? Where to?"

"She's over in America now. It doesn't look like she'll be coming back, either. She wanted me to tell you she was sorry she couldn't say bye to you."

"Well, when did you get to talk with her?"

"After you passed out. She stopped by, we told her what happened to you, and she wanted to just let you rest. You know how she always… always was…" It sounded like Kagami was crying, but trying to hold it back.

"I see. That does sound like her. Well, bummer. But our time was good while it lasted."

I could hear her crying audibly now. "I'm getting off here. I'll meet you at the station, okay?"

"Sure, Kagami. Thanks."

I hung up. So Miyuki was gone, huh… It just didn't feel right. After all we'd done, how could it just end in a day?

Wait… that wasn't right…

Miyuki couldn't have gone. It didn't add up.

Today was Sunday. Two days ago, on Friday, Miyuki was sick. She couldn't have packed then. Knowing Miyuki, if she was sick enough to miss school, it was too bad to get over in one day. This would mean she would have to pack before Friday. So why didn't she tell us in advance that she was leaving?

Was it so we wouldn't have it hanging over all of our heads, and we could keep having fun right until our last day together? No, that wasn't it, either. Miyuki isn't the type to deceive someone, even if it is for their own happiness. She would've told us, but she didn't. There was only one possibility.

Kagami was lying to me.

Why would Kagami lie to me about Miyuki? Clearly, she didn't want me to speak with her. Was there something Miyuki knew that would help me solve these mysteries? There was only one way to find out. I quickly scribbled a note for Dad and left it on the kitchen table next to his note.

Kagami was expecting me at the station soon. I had to move fast.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After getting ready, I ran out the front door, heading to Miyuki's house. I couldn't stay long, because it normally wouldn't take me very long to get to the station. I had already told Kagami that I was finishing up in the bathroom, so that excuse was out. I couldn't say that I lost track of time playing games, because I said I would go ahead to the station. So what could I tell her to buy time? Oh, well. I would figure something out, but I still had to make this fast. I couldn't draw unwanted suspicion to myself.

After running for what seemed like an eternity, I finally turned a corner and found myself on the luxurious street that Miyuki lived on. I hurried to her house. I looked in the driveway, and saw that her mom's car was parked there. So I was right. I ran up to the door and rang the doorbell. I could feel the clock ticking. Open the door, Miyuki! Please, open it already!

The door opened.

"Why, good morning, Konata-san!" Miyuki's mom.

"Good morning. I'm sorry for coming unannounced, but there's something I need to talk to Yuki-chan about."

"Very well. Please, do come inside."

I went inside and took off my shoes, acting as casual as I could. Mrs. Takara calmly led me up to Miyuki's room and knocked on the door.

"Miyuki? Kona-chan has come to visit you."

A few seconds later, the door opened. There stood Miyuki, her soft, pink hair flowing down her back. She raised her petite hand to adjust her glasses, and then she smiled.

"Thank you, mother. Kona-chan, please come inside."

"Thanks, Yuki-chan."

"I'll go read a book and leave you two alone." Miyuki's mom told us.

I went inside Miyuki's room, and she closed the door behind me. She sat in her study chair and looked at me. She then gestured to the bed.

"Please. Take a seat."

I sat on her bed and looked her in the eyes.

"Miyuki, there's something I need to tell you. But first I need to ask you something. Will you ever think I'm crazy, regardless of what I tell you or how many times I swear it's the truth?"

Miyuki laughed with a surprised look on her face.

"Will I ever think you're crazy? Well… I may become confused if what you say can't be explained rationally, but you have never shown any symptoms of a mental illness of any sort. I would most likely try to rationalize the situation using logic."

"But what if the situation couldn't be explained logically?"

"Then I would first ask you if you were dreaming what you were reporting."

Hoo boy. Looks like I had a lot of explaining to do.

I began telling Miyuki everything that had happened to me since I woke up as Kurokona on the day of the first dream blur. Miyuki sat and listened to me, nodding every so often to affirm that she was following. When I went into details about the Abyss and the bloody mirror she shuddered a little, but still continued listening. Her eyes widened when I told her of Kagami's machete and my dream blur as Konata, and she whispered "Oh, my," under her breath.

"Then she told me that you moved to America, and that you dropped by her house on Friday when I was still resting. There you said goodbye and moved. I figured out it wasn't possible since you'd been sick, and came running here right after I got off the phone. I figured Friday and Saturday would be enough for you to be better. So now here we are."

"I see…"

Miyuki looked at the floor and stroked her chin. She had a deep, analytical look on her face.

"Well, this is quite a predicament you seem to be faced with."

"I don't even know what's what anymore," I sighed. "What do you make of it, Miyuki?"

"Well… I really don't know what to say." She continued thinking. Her brow furrowed. After a moment, she looked up at me. This was one of the only times I'd ever seen her with a serious look on her face, as opposed to her usual polite smile.

"If what you've said is true, then only one of you could possibly exist. You are either Konata Izumi or Kurokona Izumi. However, you have interacted with both worlds as though you are connected through your character link. You have also known what areas you've never been in look like before you enter them because you saw it earlier in the separate world of your dream. Quite the phenomenon…

"Still, you have experienced impossible scenarios from both worlds. Even if there's only one of you, there's still a variable factor involved. Something which alters the world around you…"

"Could such a thing exist?" I asked her curiously.

"I wouldn't think so… but it could be that this variable figments the appearance of areas from your perception when you enter them for the first time, so as to avoid inconsistencies between the worlds."

"You mean Kagami's basement looked nothing like I saw it? Like I was imagining all the similarities between the worlds?"

"It's only a possibility. But it all depends on the nature of this variable factor. Whether it's a higher force, a mental phenomenon, or it falls under some other category, they all provide different explanations. But your dream on Thursday night was the first time you'd ever had this dream, correct?"

I began thinking hard. I had my first dream as Kurokona on Thursday night, right? All I could remember before that was happiness with my friends. All the happy times with just the four of us. The happiness that was starting to leave me. Asking Yuki-chan about differences between the cold and the flu, talking with everyone about the perfect dentist visit, laughing with Kagami and Tsukasa over lunch about how Tsukasa and I became friends-

How Tsukasa and I became friends. That was it.

"…No."

"Hmm?"

No. Memories were flooding my mind, filling my brain with their unwanted presence. I remembered everything as though it had happened just yesterday.

I'd had my dream as Kurokona once before.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It was after a fight I had with my last friend after I became more interested in anime, etc. This one was my best friend, too. But she couldn't be seen hanging around an otaku freak like myself. When I asked her why, she made it very clear that she was more interested in social image than in protecting the emotions and self-esteem of someone like me. That was the day I'd lost all hope in social life.

I came home by myself and walked up to my room. I then fell down on my bed, tears in my eyes, and eventually fell asleep. While I slept, I had a horrible dream.

In the dream, I was Kurokona Izumi. Lonely and depressed, a haunted life, a tormented soul forever screaming in agony. There was no central story, no explanations, and no happiness. Just a bland existence.

The dream was so horrible because it was an effective way of portraying my new lonely life. It was an exaggerated portrayal, but it would be perfectly accurate soon if I didn't change something.

When I woke up, I ran out the door. Dad, who had no idea I was silently crying earlier or that I'd lost all my friends, casually asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to stop by Gamer's. He gave his consent. My real reason for going out was to search for a friend. I couldn't handle a life like Kurokona's.

I walked around the neighborhood time and time again, looking for someone who would make a good friend. An hour passed, then two, and before I knew it the sun was setting. I hadn't seen anybody to even ask. I gave up for the day, and began heading back home. On my way, I passed by the supermarket.

I apathetically glanced in the parking lot, and found quite a surprise. A huge, intimidating foreigner was looming over a small girl around my age. She had short-cut purple hair, a troubled expression on her face, and a look of fear in her eyes. She was looking up at the foreigner, eyes upturned, whimpering.

"I-I'm sorry…" was all I heard the poor girl say. This was it. My chance.

I sprang into action like some cheesy 1960's comic book hero. Before I realized what I was doing, the foreigner was on the ground below me lying face-up. Holy crap, I kicked his feet out! No time to think. I knelt by him on one knee and brought my elbow down into his gut. The force from the blow was enough to knock him unconscious. What would my mother have to say…

The frightened girl looked at me with astonishment in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Y-yes…" she stammered.

"It's alright. He won't hurt you. I foiled his plans."

"E-eh?" She looked confused.

"What? That's what he was doing, right? Wasn't he threatening you?"

"Um… uh… no. You see, he was just asking me for directions."

I stared at her. I think my eye twitched.

"B-but I couldn't understand him very well, and I started fretting. I guess I made the situation look like something else entirely…"

We both looked down at the muscle-covered foreigner with apologetic looks on our faces. He tried to say something, but he was too confused to get it out right and once again fell silent.

"…Well, at least he's not dead. My name's Konata Izumi." I smiled and held out my hand. She took it.

"I'm Tsukasa Hiiragi. Thanks for stepping in. If it really was as you'd said, I don't know what would have happened to me."

We shook hands. And with that, I had made a new friend.

I reiterated all of this to Miyuki.

"I see… then in that case, that would mean that you figmented Kurokona first by dreaming her, which is definite proof that you are the real one. Unless…"

"Unless what?" I asked.

"Unless the aforementioned variable factor is of a mental state. If that's the case, then that memory could be figmented to mislead you."

"Uwaah! I can't even trust my brain!" I flopped down on her bed.

"Well, perhaps it would be best to first determine this variable factor. If we consider everything, I'm sure we will find a definite answer."

We didn't. We speculated about what it could be, but we didn't get a definite answer. Everything from the spiritual to the insane, but there just wasn't enough to know for sure. A moment after our brainstorming, Miyuki spoke again.

"It is also worthy of note that Kagami acts as a caregiver when you perceive her, but acts intimidating to Kurokona. Regardless of whichever you truly are, something's wrong with her. Be it a lie or a death threat."

"Well, that's true…" I agreed with her. "But which should I assume now?"

"I think it would be best to assume the worst case scenario, just to be prepared should you be unlucky. But try to remain discreet. She's more connected with the dream blurs than she would like us to think. I can't tell how much control she has, but just feign ignorance for now."

"Okay, I will. Thanks for this, Miyuki. I'm really grateful."

She gave me a smile.

"Oh, that's quite alright. I'll gladly do anything I can to help a friend. But I suppose that's all we can figure out right now. You should hurry on to the station. If I draw any more conclusions, I'll tell you the next time we're alone."

"Okay, then. Well, bye."

I slowly got up off her bed and walked to the door.

_Wait, what am I doing? I can't leave now. There's something else she has to tell me… the key I need to solve all of this._ My instincts were screaming at me to stop moving.

I rested my hand on the doorknob. I then glanced back at Miyuki. She was still deep in thought, and hadn't even noticed my gaze. _See, if she knew something else she would tell you. Just leave. _I turned back to the door.

_No! Maybe she doesn't even realize it herself… but if I don't get one last thing out of her, I'll never have another chance to solve this! There must be something else… something I'm missing._

I could feel myself turning the knob. _Think fast! Why would Kagami lie to me about Miyuki? So that I wouldn't see her. Miyuki can help me piece this together. She already has. It's just my imagination. She's done all she can. No she hasn't! This is driving me crazy._

Wait.

I stopped turning the knob. I saw Miyuki look up at me curiously out of the corner of my eye.

Today was Sunday. But I would see Miyuki as soon as I went back to school. There was something that I had to learn now that Kagami didn't want me to. Because for some reason, by the time I would be back in school…

_it'll be too late for me to solve this._

_I have to figure this out soon. To do that, I need a lead. If I leave now, Kagami wins and I'm trapped forever. _

"Miyuki… there's one last thing you want to tell me."

I turned around to face her. Her eyes were wide with surprise. I continued.

"Maybe it's just a wild theory, or a connection you made that seems completely irrelevant. But please. It's the solution to all of this. Just trust me."

"…Yes."

I was right. There was something else. She continued.

"I was just thinking about which world is a dream. While there's no way of definitely knowing from your perspective, I believe that you could find that out by controlling your mind."

This was it. I had finally found a way to learn the truth.

"How do I control my mind?"

"You just meditate. Practice by sitting down cross-legged, clasp your hands, and close your eyes. Then empty your mind of all mental visuals and noises. Don't squirm or make noise. Just clear your mind.

"Once your mind is clear, you will be able to think properly. Usually you also tend to have more control over your dreams. If you control your mind while in a dream, then theoretically you may be able to alter the dream world you're in as you wish.

"Practice once you get home, but if you ever need to get in control at a moment's notice or you're in a situation where you can't sit down, don't worry. You don't have to sit down to control your mind. Just try kneeling in place. It helps if you cross your legs, but the main thing to focus on is just clearing your mind. Just remember that."

"Miyuki… thank you." I walked over to her and gave her a big hug.

"O-oh? No, it was really no trouble…"

I stood straight, ready to leave, but then looked back at her eyes. I had to ask before I went.

"One last question, Miyuki."

"Yes, Konata?"

I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could continue.

"Are you real?"

She leaned back in her chair, looked up at me, and gave me a smile.

"I believe so. I have a consciousness and can feel emotions. But it would be my job to say that even if I wasn't real, wouldn't it be? For now, just go. There's something you have to do, right?"

She was right. I waved goodbye to her and turned back to the door.

"Besides…"

I stared at the door in front of me as she spoke.

"If I am real, you can ask me once it's over."

I turned the door handle and made my way out of the house. I could feel my pulse quickening, throbbing in my ears. You hear me, Kagami? It's my move.

And now I've got the upper hand.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I still didn't have much time, but there was one more thing I had to do before I could go to the station.

I was going to pay a little visit to Kagami's house.

Kagami's house was on the way to the station, so I could just stop there along the way. I hated the thought of breaking into my best friend's house, but there was one thing I needed to get. Other than that, I wouldn't touch anything I saw.

There was no car in the driveway. The less people here, the better. I walked around to the back of the house and looked for the basement window. Surprisingly, it was there. Now that I thought about it, the windows were all present, too. Strange… the last time I saw this house, they were all gone.

_It's strange for a house to have windows?_

I hate it when stress starts messing with your mind.

I knelt down by the window, being stealthy just in case someone was home (the car was gone, so Tsukasa was probably the only one who might be there. That is, unless Kagami had never left her house and was lying to me). I checked the window, and found it to be locked.

_So I just have to clear my mind? I'll try…_

I knelt by the window, clasped my hands, and closed my eyes. Wow, I could see so many images in my mind. They were mostly video games and anime I'd indulged myself in recently. If I could just stop them long enough to- Ooh, there's Haruhi! Ah, crap, I hated Endless Eight. Though I have to say, Shoushitsu really brought the series name back to its former-

_Focus, Konata. You've got to do this here and now._

I tried pushing everything out of my mind. That did not work so well. I could keep that up for about five seconds, but then it would all come rushing back in. Was my mind really this out of control? It was like I always had to have an image fresh in my mind.

Then I got another idea. I tried concentrating on the backs of my eyelids and listening to the natural silence around me. All the images were fresh in my mind, so I continued to see a little bit of it even while focusing on the darkness. When that happened, I concentrated harder on listening to the silence, which helped to calm my mind.

Back and forth I went, gaining control and then losing it, for I don't know how long. But it seemed that I was gradually obtaining better control of my thoughts. Eventually, I didn't see or hear anything as long as I was focusing on my eyelids. But if I stopped concentrating it would start up again, though not nearly as drastic as it was initially.

I let go of my concentration on the darkness, and purposely ventured into the last of the chaos. After a few minutes of meditation, I was in full control. I felt pretty blissed out, too. This was meditation? It was indescribably relaxing. I could feel myself bonding with the world around me as I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. Then, something unexpected happened.

I could see everything around me. I couldn't make out the crisp, distinct features of everything, but I could see their glowing outlines in my mind's eye. I tilted my head down, and saw a blue substance that looked like some unique cross between putty and lightning. It was in the shape of my arms. Was that the natural energy flowing through everything? In front of them, I saw a square outline of the same substance. I assumed the square was the window. I could see something in the faint shape of a deadlock on the square.

I lifted my arms, keeping my eyes closed, and saw that my energy arms moved with them. I placed my fingers in front of the deadlock, and waited. Then I got an idea. I don't know why I decided to do what I did. It just felt right.

I continued breathing in through my nose, but began visualizing myself breathing out through my right hand's fingertips. I pictured it so vividly it was hard to believe that I wasn't actually doing just that. But as I looked down, I saw my energy fingers expanding. I continued visualizing breathing through them, and they continued expanding with each breath. Once they were long enough to reach the deadlock, I wrapped them around it and pulled it to the right.

I had to do so slowly, so as to maintain my calm mental state. But once I got it, I slowly let go of it and rested my arm. Was the window open? I opened my eyes.

The world looked just as I had left it. What did I just do? I looked down on my hands, and they looked the same. But they felt different. They felt… wet. I wiped them together, and found that they were covered in some invisible liquid. As I rubbed, the substance continuously squeaked until it was gone. Was that the energy I handled?

I slowly reached my hand out and grabbed the window's handle. I lifted it, and the door opened as though it was never locked. I quietly climbed in, and looked up by the window.

There was a deadlock right by the window.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I would ask questions later. For the time being, I had to get the watch and get out of there.

I tiptoed over to the shelf that the pocket watch was on, grabbed it, and put it in my pocket. I then returned to the window and climbed out, slowly and quietly closing the window to its former position. I had to get to the station ASAP, and I needed an excuse as to why I was so late. I saw Patty on my way there and we got to talking about games to the point where I lost track of time? Sure. It sounded like something I would do, anyway.

I ran to the station as quickly as I could, the cool wind brushing against my face and rustling through my hair as I raced to beat Time. I pumped my arms, running faster than I ever had on the track as adrenaline pulsed through my veins. Time was running at the speed of light, and yet Time stretched on as I wondered if I would make it soon enough. Would Kagami believe my story if I got there too late? I couldn't afford to find out.

I turned a corner, and I was finally there. The station. I slowed to a walk. I could see, sitting on a bench- it was Kagami. She was gazing down on the ground, waiting for me. She had yet to notice me.

After taking a minute to still my heavy breathing, I walked up to the bench and took a seat next to her. She continued staring at her feet, refusing to acknowledge me. A moment went by. She still said nothing.

"Don't you want to know where I was?"

Kagami twirled her finger around one of her pigtails, looking away from me. Other than that, no response.

"Listen, I'm sorry I kept you waiting. It's just that I ran into Patty on my way here so we said hey, and before I told her I was coming here she asked me about this game she's been playing. You know how I get when I go into otaku mode."

"I know, but Konata, it's really inconsiderate to just let someone wait for you while you're off messing around."

"Well, how can I make up for it?"

Kagami turned her head to face me. She had a big smile on her face.

"By treating us both to dinner once we get back."

I returned her smile.

"Sure, Kagami. So anyway, looking forward to Gamer's? I bet you can't wait for that Matsurobayoni-hen, huh?"

Kagami blushed as she looked away. I laughed.

We laughed.

It was the last time we would ever laugh together.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The train pulled up and welcomed us on. We rode on to Gamer's, happily chatting the whole way there. Actually, we spent a lot of time talking about anime. Kagami seemed more willing to talk about that stuff today than she normally is. She even listened to one of my rants. That was odd.

After a while, the train slowed to a stop and we had reached our destination. Kagami got out, and I followed suit. We made our way to Gamer's under the bright glow of the sun. There weren't many people in there today. I mostly browsed around for just about anything, but Kagami stood by me the whole time.

"Don't you want to go look for Higurashi?"

"Oh, I figured I could hang with you. I might find a new favorite anime if I learn enough from you. Heh."

That was about the only conversation we had there. Whatever happened to Matsuribayashi-hen?

A few hours passed. I figured that I was done shopping for the day, so I asked Kagami if she wanted to look at anything else. She said no. I paid for my new games. I bought four things total. Kagami didn't buy a thing.

"Kagami, what time is it?" I asked once we were out.

"Let's see…" Kagami looked at her watch. "It's almost six."

"Well, I've had fun today. Let's go back home now."

"Okay. I'll let you play your new games."

Huh… I figured she would've tried to get me to do something else with her to stall for time. She was just going to let me walk away? How much did she think I knew?

We got back to the station, and a train pulled up with impeccable timing. Kagami let me on first. I froze in the doorway. Gosh, it was almost empty. There wasn't a sound on the train. I looked around, and found that it actually was empty. Not a soul on board.

"After you," Kagami whispered into my ear. What was going on?

I slowly stepped on board, and Kagami followed. The doors slammed shut behind us. Kagami walked to a corner seat and sat next to it.

"Konata, aren't you sitting?"

She gestured to the corner seat.

"Uh… yeah…"

I walked to the seat in the corner of the train, next to Kagami. Her eyes followed me with each step I took. When I sat down, she was still staring at me. It felt like I was being crushed into the corner between the train's walls and Kagami's relentless stare. After a moment, she broke the silence.

"Where were you before you got to the station?"

Her voice was monotonous. She continued staring, letting the silence hang in the air.

"I told you... I was speaking with Patty. Why…?"

"You're lying."

I looked up into Kagami's eyes. They accused me.

"I saw Patty on my way up to the station. She said she was going to Ayano's house for a while. That's nowhere near your house."

Crap. What was I supposed to do now?

"I want the truth this time. Where were you before you got to the station?"

"Does it even matter?"

I felt the train jerk to a start and begin moving, slowly picking up its pace.

"Oh. Well, then. I see how it is. You were off messing around and figured I could wait. 'Kagami'll always forgive me.' 'Kagami won't mind.' Well, what if I did, Konata? Don't you care about my feelings?"

"Now you're just being ridiculous. Of course I-"

"Then why won't you let it go!"

A sudden outburst from Kagami.

"You know what I'm talking about! Why can't you just forget about that damn dream and consider what I want?"

So I was right. Kagami wanted me to stay in the dark about all this. Great. How many best friends have I lost now?

"Kagami, you can't stop me. I don't know who or what you really are, but I do know that you don't want me to find out. How many strings are you pulling?"

If she wanted to fight me, so be it. I was confident that I could control my mind enough to defend myself. At least, that's what I was thinking until Kagami got angry.

Kagami screeched and slowly began to float up above her seat. She rose until she was looking down on me. The tears in her eyes did not douse the fire in them. She snarled, clenched her teeth, and glared at me. Her clothes rustled as though being blown by the utter force she was emitting. Her hair was floating up above her head, wriggling like Medusa on a bad day. Tiny sparks of what looked like overcharged static electricity were shooting from her hair tips. She looked like a canvas taken out of an art class in Hell.

My eyes shot through the train compartment, begging for an exit. Could I squirm past Kagami and make it through the door into the next compartment? As I contemplated this, Kagami lifted her hand, palm facing toward said door. She then proceeded to annihilate it by shooting a blast of dark matter bigger than a watermelon out of her palm. The entire train came apart once the dark matter made contact with the door, and I stared in shock through the new hole.

Everything was dark as though we had entered a tunnel, but there was no tunnel surrounding us. I could still make out the train tracks behind us, but other than that there was nothing. We were completely suspended in space, and these tracks were the only thing keeping us from falling into oblivion.

_Calm your mind calm your mind calm your mind calm your_

Kagami was too fast. She lurched forward and grabbed me by my neck. She lifted me up off my feet, staring into my eyes. Hers were filled with contempt and sorrow. She slowly walked over to the hole by the empty space. With me in her grasp. Held above the vortex. About to fall.

Kagami released her hold on me.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I saw the suspended tracks race up past my head as I fell down. Down I went, spinning out of control. I closed my eyes as I tumbled into the never ending vortex of darkness. I couldn't even tell which way was up anymore.

I felt an overwhelming rush of fatigue wash over me. What was this? My body felt as though it was becoming lighter. Emptier. I couldn't get in control of any of this. I would fall for the rest of eternity, I was sure of it.

Then it hit me.

If I could unlock a window by controlling my mind, then maybe it could somehow save me here. Wherever here was.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the backs of my eyelids. It was hard to focus and relax with adrenaline pumping through me. But I had no choice. I had to try.

I looked down at myself while keeping my eyes closed. I could faintly see my energy body that I had seen before, but I wasn't focused enough to see it clearly and brightly like before. I had to keep working. If only I could stop falling…

Of course! If only I could stop falling!

I put all my concentration into stopping the sensation of falling that I was trapped in. I felt myself slow down a little, but then I lost it and sped back up. Once again, I concentrated on staying still. I felt myself slow down significantly more this time. I took advantage of this sudden change to quickly finish the job. I was suspended in the space, unmoving. I slowly opened my eyes and looked down.

I could see the train tracks I was on just a moment ago. They were leading down in a spiral, into the blackness beneath me. I mentally edged myself over from the middle of the spiral to the tracks and landed my feet on them. I looked up, and saw the train moving towards me. In the conductor's seat – Kagami.

This was it. She was advancing towards me. I only had one chance.

When the train was about twenty meters away, I jumped up. I was directly in front of the window when the train crashed into me. In that instant, I focused on seeing the glass break in my mind.

I came crashing through the shattered window. I landed directly on Kagami, knocking her out of her chair. I didn't know where this train was headed, but I didn't want to find out. I got up and reached for the emergency brakes. Kagami's hand shot forward and grabbed my wrist. She wasn't going down without a fight.

I grabbed her arm holding my wrist and pushed her over. She used the momentum to spin me to the ground in mid-fall. On top of me then, she tried to poke my eyes out, but I quickly moved my head left and then up; I first dodged her attack this way, and then I delivered a head butt while I was at it. Kagami was stunned, and I used this time to kick her off of me. I jumped to my feet and ran for the emergency brakes.

I felt my feet give out underneath me. I looked down as I fell, and saw that Kagami had knocked me over before I managed to get to the brakes. She was once again on top of me, and she had her hands around my neck.

She squeezed my neck with all her might, cutting off my breath as easily as if my windpipe was a bendy straw. I gave her an uppercut right below the chin, knocking her off of me. I got up once more, felt the sweet air around me rush into my lungs, and grabbed the brakes. I pulled the lever with all my might. The train began slowly but surely coming to a stop.

Kagami lifted her head. Suddenly, as the train continued to lose speed, I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I couldn't. I began falling, falling to the floor, slipping into unconsciousness.

_What is this…?_

"Hey, Konata!"

I snapped my eyes open.

It was Kagami. I was back in the train before she had begun to unleash whatever power she had.

"Konata, we're here."

I still felt drowsy from where I had fallen asleep. At least, that's what it felt like. But when had I fallen asleep? On the way back? I looked around. There were a bunch of people on the train, just minding their own business.

"Let's go."

Kagami led me out of the train and onto the sturdy ground of the station. I had a bag from Gamer's in my hand. She had nothing. I looked up at the sunset. Kagami looked with me, too. It was a nice sunset, mixing the evening sky with hughes of pink and orange. Beautiful.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Konata."

"Yeah. Later, Kagami."

I put one hand in one of my pockets and used the other to bid Kagami farewell. I couldn't believe it. Everything that had happened was nothing more than a dream. Kurokona, the dream blurs… My prayers had been answered. Kagami wasn't deceiving me. She would always be my best friend.

Everything was alright.

That's what I tried to look like I was thinking as I squeezed the pocket watch tight in my palm and waved goodbye.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I hurried home to my dad. After explaining that I had been at Gamer's and had just lost track of time, he reluctantly said that everything was fine.

"I'm going on to bed, Dad."

"You tired already?"

"Yeah."

"…You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

I walked up the stairs to my room, locking the door behind me. I sat the pocket watch on the desk by the computer. It was Sunday, which meant that tomorrow I would be at school. If today really was my last chance to fix this, then I had to do it before midnight. Then again, the deadline might be Monday morning, the instant the sun came up. I might have a few hours, or I might have all night.

Either way, it was going to be a long night.

I picked up my alarm clock and set it for eleven o'clock PM. I had a hunch about what I needed to do, but I would need to be Kurokona to pull it off.

_If I go through with this, my life as Konata may be ruined. I may shatter everything I have in this life, and if I do that I'll never be able to have fun with Kagami again. Am I really willing to go through with that?_

I pictured Kagami, first holding a machete to my neck and then trying to hit me with a train.

_Am I really willing to go through with that? How can I not be? The best part of Konata's life was having a friendship with Kagami. This life is already shattered._

I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. Everything would be over soon. Kagami would be over soon. The dream blurs would be over soon. And if I was the dream me, I would be over soon.

I felt a tear fall down my cheek shortly before I fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 21

Kurokona's Awakening

Chapter 21

Thank goodness I had fallen asleep. I was ready for answers.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock at eleven o'clock sharp. I turned on my lamp and checked my hair. Black as the darkness that enshrouded everything under the night sky outside. I was Kurokona.

I slowly opened my door and poked my head out. As I listened carefully, the sound of Ayako snoring met my ears. Good, she was asleep. I couldn't afford any distractions. I returned the door to its former position. It was time to test out my hunch.

I walked over to my desk and picked up the pocket watch. I then sat down on my bed with my legs crossed. I clasped my hands and set the pocket watch in the nest my fingers formed. Closing my eyes and clearing my mind, I waited for a sign without knowing exactly what to expect.

As was the case with Konata, images were rapidly circulating in my mind. I knew that I had to focus on the darkness my physical eyes saw to help me clear my mind. I had a feeling that as soon as I could successfully do so, then with the pocket watch in my hands I would have a great revelation. I didn't know where that notion came from, but I felt strangely confident about it.

But this time it was different. I was having a lot more trouble doing it as Kurokona than I had as Konata. That was probably because Konata was a dream, and I was in a lower state of consciousness while I was dreaming. Now I was awake, and my brain had more blood pumping through it, making it a bit more difficult to clear my mind. That explanation seemed logical, anyway.

After I had focused on the darkness for a while, I found that I was getting no results. Why couldn't I keep the thoughts out?

Then it hit me.

I wasn't supposed to push the thoughts out in any way.

I focused on all the thoughts going into my mind. Good. Images were once again spinning chaotically through my mind. I found that as I remained passive to a thought, noticing it but not clinging to it, it went away after a few seconds and a new thought took its place. So all I had to do was remain indifferent to all my thoughts and my mind would be cleared soon.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of doing this new technique, thoughts came into my mind less and less. The spaces between thoughts gradually grew longer. The thoughts became shorter, and before I knew it my mind was almost empty.

Without warning, I felt a weird feeling wash over me. This was a feeling that was beyond words, almost. It was a feeling that I couldn't rationally comprehend. It was a feeling I couldn't explain in a sane way.

As was the case with the dream blurs, I felt like I was on the borderline between two alternate worlds. But in the dream blurs, it felt like I was between being asleep and awake. In this case, I felt as though I was between two worlds, both of which were real. It was as though there was a world that had been hidden from me my whole life that I had just discovered.

I also felt a weird tingling sensation in the core of my brain. It felt like an eye was opening in my mind. I felt like I was suspended in space, as though the bed I was sitting on had dematerialized into astral space and I had gone with it.

I observed what I saw in my mind's eye. I only saw pitch blackness, but I intuitively knew the answer was somewhere in this Void. But where? Everything was dark and it was impossible to navigate through this without some sort of light.

Suddenly, I sensed a tingling sensation in my hands. It felt like electromagnetic energy was radiating from my hands in an intensely warm ball. I tilted my head down without opening my eyes, and saw in the dark a purple fire resting in my palms. The top of the flame would slowly rise a few inches and then dissipate into the nothingness like it was being sucked in. Within the very center of this flame sat the pocket watch.

I imagined the flame rising up out of my hand and aligning itself with the center of my forehead. I next visualized myself shooting a bright white beam out of my forehead and intersecting with the purple fire. Once I had done so, I used the point of intersection between the two to transfer data from the watch into my conscious mind. I could feel the truth flowing into my mind.

My head began pounding. It felt like all the information in the world was being crammed into my mind. I saw a chain of my memories, I saw Kagami, I saw my mother dying, I saw all the pain I'd had to go through before all this started happening-

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a great realization. The truth was in my subconscious mind, and it would soon surface to my consciousness. I only knew one thing for certain.

It would only surface after I traversed The Abyss.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I put the pocket watch in my pocket and got my flashlight. I moved quickly and quietly past Ayako's room, down the stairs, and to the front door. I couldn't let her wake up and pester me with an interrogation. Once outside, I silently closed the door behind me. With the flashlight on but my hand covering most of the light so as to remain invisible, I began silently jogging to my final destination.

When I got to the abandoned house, I opened the unlocked basement window in the backyard. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, I turned off the flashlight and went inside.

My feet landed on the basement floor, echoing through the silence. I felt an eerie chill run up my spine after the noise had faded. It felt like it was about twenty degrees Fahrenheit inside.

Before I even had time to look around the basement, the flashlight died. Its batteries had been new the last time I'd used it, yet it would not turn on again. I was trapped in darkness. I threw the useless thing on the ground, fully intent to leave it and go invest in Duracell when all this was over.

In the very next instant, the window slammed shut behind me. I heard the rusty deadbolt quickly and forcefully slide into place, locking the window. I couldn't have found the dead bolt even if I had tried in that darkness. Now I was literally trapped, and the only place left to go was down. I no longer had a choice.

A dim light suddenly began shining from a bare bulb hanging on the ceiling. It went out immediately after it had been turned on, but then it came back on again. The dim light didn't help me to see much, but I could at least make out my hands in front of my face.

I scanned the room, searching for the stairs that would lead me to my past. I could faintly see the hole in the wall opposite from where I was. It was right next to some kind of lump lying on the ground. I tried to make out what it was, but the light was too dim. Then the light went out entirely.

A second later the light flashed back on, completely piercing the darkness this time and momentarily blinding me. Once I regained sight, I realized that this light was not too dim for me to make out the lump. But I wish it was. I sincerely wish it was.

Lying next to the hole in the wall, from which I would descend into my personal Hell, was the maimed, lifeless body of Yutaka Kobayakawa.

Her long, sweet, pink hair was tainted crimson by the blood that continued to pour out of her throat. Her back was against the wall and she was leaning to one side, like she had died before she had slid to the floor. Her head was cocked to one side; her eyes were bugging out as if the attack had taken her by surprise. Her mouth was locked in an _O_, trying to shout for mercy. Written above her head in her own blood was a chilling message left by the murderer.

_I warned you. _

A bloody arrow was drawn under that, pointing to the stairs.

I don't know how long I spent staring in shock at the carcass. It was only in that moment, staring at the remains of the embodiment of innocence in my dream life, when I realized that I could die at any minute. It only took a second for me to let my guard down, and if I did I would die before I had time to blink.

It was really going to be a long night.

Eventually, I managed to summon the courage to continue. I stepped past the body, unable to take my eyes off it, and slowly squeezed through the hole.

My eyes were met with the long set of stairs. Again, the surrounding walls were a bland grey, but this time they were also cracked and weathered. Last time, I had my flashlight with me to illuminate the path. This time, my flashlight was dead and I had no choice but to navigate the stairs in utter darkness.

My shadow was stretched ominously down the stairwell as far as I could see. I slowly took first one step, then another, and continued to walk. The light from above began fading as I went further in. Soon the light was completely gone, and I could see nothing. Even so, I continued; one hand groping the wall for support, the other in front of me to let me know when I got to the door.

The descent was noticeably longer this time. I must have traveled three times the distance I had traveled the first time. As I continued, I began to notice that the stairs were gradually becoming steeper as I went further in.

After an eternity of walking, I saw the door. I don't know where it came from, but the door was illuminated by a light source. It looked like a flashlight was shining on the door, but there was no such thing present. _Abyss_ was still scribbled on the door in the same white lettering I had seen the first time. The door was more corroded this time, and was almost entirely covered in red specks which I hoped was only rust.

I reached for the knob, and as I did so the word _Abyss _silently turned bright red. I grabbed the knob and slowly turned it, opening the door a crack. I peeked into the room while trying to remain silent.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Beyond this door was a long row of prison cells to my left and my right. The walls, floor, and even ceiling were covered in moss and mildew, like the hall had once been flooded. There were bare light bulbs swinging in place along the ceiling. The narrow oppression of captivity created a claustrophobic atmosphere.

I stepped in and closed the door behind me. I began to creep through the hallway silently. As I looked into one of the cells, I saw yet another scene from my past.

It was a flesh sculpture scene. The sculpture was lying down in what looked like a hospital bed. Its stomach had been entirely replaced with a hole. It looked like something had been inside the stomach, and had torn its way out with a pair of claws. A yellowish-green liquid that looked like morphine was trickling out of the stomach and onto the floor.

Without warning, the flesh sculpture shot its head up and stared directly at me. If this thing were to have eyes, they would have been looking directly into mine. The skin where it would have had a mouth began slowly ripping apart, creating a distorted image of a mouth. It lifted its left hand and stretched it out towards me, as though trying to cry for help. Then it stopped moving and remained silent in this stiff position.

I stared at the sculpture for a few moments. When I saw that it would make no other move, I started to walk again. I tried to forget what I had just seen, but it didn't work.

Continuing through the prison, I glanced in a few more cells. I saw a collection of books scattered on the floor in one of them. Another had its sink jutting out of the ceiling. One was empty save for a noose and a chair directly under it.

After a long row of prison cells, I came to another door. I quietly slid this door open and checked inside. When I saw that there was nothing to kill me, I went inside.

In this room were two large walls, risen parallel to each other at the end of the room. There was a ceiling of sorts, placed on top of these walls. The walls seemed to go on a bit further than the regular room's borders, and then they both turned to the right. This formed a tunnel which I would have to go through. Oh, boy.

I stepped towards the tunnel, careful to keep my distance. I shouted at the tunnel and jumped back. Nothing jumped out at me, so I figured it was okay to go in a little ways.

There were random sections of the ceiling missing, from which a few streaks of light shone in and illuminated my path. It looked like sunshine. The ceiling was too high for me to reach, let alone hop out of. I could only move forwards.

After a bit of navigating, I came to a fork in the path. One way led left, the other led right.

The last thing I wanted to see in this place. It was a giant maze.

And it looked like I was the rat.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I decided that it would be best for me to keep track of where I was. I began forming a map of the maze and my location in it in my mind. I knew that if I kept my wits about me then I could surpass anything. I decided to take the left path and see how that worked out. I could always go back to the right.

I continued walking, my quiet footsteps the only noise in the tunnel. The utter silence created an unsettling mood as though I was in a dead place, a place where all previous life had slowly died out and taken all noise with it. Then again, considering where I was, I thought that it was probably best that there wasn't anything else alive around me. There's no telling what would happen to me if there was something lurking in here.

I was faintly familiar with a few maze-solving techniques, but I didn't have anything to mark my paths so Trémaux's algorithm was out, and all of the other techniques I knew required me to see the entire maze at once. I supposed that I could go with the "always turn left" tactic, but I didn't know if this maze ended on an outer wall or if I had to get to the center. I figured that I could just go with always turning left and then work the rest out as it came.

Soon, I came to another fork in the path. This was a four-way intersection. I could head left, right, or straight. I once again chose the left. I still had my position marked fresh in my mind, ready to run away to the entrance should the need present itself.

I continued walking. This path was long, and every now and then it would curve to the left or to the right. As I continued, I pondered the sunshine right above my head at roughly eleven-thirty at night, X miles underground. Truth be told, I couldn't even be sure that it was sunshine. There wasn't much light escaping the few holes in the ceiling.

I soon came to yet another intersection. One way went forwards, the other way led right. I continued forwards, aware that I should stick to the wall if there wasn't a left turn. My mental map was becoming more complicated. I hoped I would get out soon.

The silence in the air continued to hang. It felt like the air was becoming heavier, like the entire world was holding its breath, remaining quiet, ready to pounce out at me and snuff out my life. My footsteps were still the only noise penetrating the silence.

As I ventured forwards, I came to another fork. One way led left and the other led right. I once again chose the left.

Without warning, a giant screeching noise rang out through the entire labyrinth. The noise sounded like a lion's roar, but there was a metallic noise overlaying it. It sounded like an old steel door being squished in half in a rusty compactor. The noise was followed by a loud, rhythmic thumping noise that sounded eerily like giant footsteps. I quickly spun around on my heels, trying to locate my predator. And I located it, all right.

Standing before me, in the path I had been in mere seconds ago, was the biggest creature I had ever seen in my life.

It must have been fourteen feet tall and five hundred pounds in weight. It was jet black all over. It had no eyes. Its nose was fused with its mouth in some dastardly mutation. The thing was on four legs and its claws were each longer than a queen-sized bed. There were things that looked like tentacles growing off its face –if you could even call it a face- and were swarming around its head, as though hunting for prey.

The thing turned its head to face me. Its tentacles stood up and pointed at me, unflinching. It gave another ungodly roar, and prepared to charge at me.

I didn't have time to think. I could only run, run away from this thing. I turned around and ran with everything I had. I could only see the hallway I was in extending, showing no signs of turning off.

I finally saw a corner coming up ahead. I stopped for a second, letting it catch up to me.

As it turns out, the thing just started running at me once I was at the corner. It was playing with me. It wasn't hard to see why, either. Within seconds, it had crossed half the distance of a football field. It was about sixty yards away. A few seconds later, it was thirty yards away. Its head was down, its mouth-nose open wide, ready to swallow me whole. Ten yards away…

I quickly ducked and turned the corner. The thing hadn't noticed the corner, and rammed its head directly into the wall at around sixty miles per hour. Judging by the way it fell to the ground, grunting in pain, I'd say it didn't have an exoskeleton. Lucky me.

There probably wasn't much time before the thing would recover and start chasing me again, though. I turned around and saw a door at the end of the hall. I immediately took off, ready to escape this nightmare. Behind me, I heard it slowly get up. I kept running, thinking of nothing but escape. Time seemed to slow down around me. I could hear nothing but my heart throbbing in my chest as I raced to beat impossible odds. It felt like I was running through a pool of water.

I felt myself arrive at the door. I threw the door open-

And stopped in my tracks.

It was Kagami. Kagami was standing five feet away from me.

And she was covered in blood, holding a rusty metal pipe out toward me, her face showing pity.

"Kona… I told you to leave the truth alone. Why didn't you listen to me…?"

Kagami remained where she was at. I spun around and looked at the giant. It had fully recovered and was charging at me at full speed. I spun back around. Kagami remained still, save for her lips as she continued in a solemn voice.

"It's your choice, Kona. You can come a little closer and let me end it for you, or you can choose letting that thing chomp you. But either way, it's over."

After this line, Kagami robotically raised the metal pipe into the air, ready to bring it down quickly and painlessly. The monster kept running. What to do, where to go, there must be another way, somewhere, anywhere, anything, what to do-

I couldn't think of anything.

I had always relied on my wit to get me out of trouble. And I was clueless.

The monster was charging at me at full speed. It would reach me quick, and swallow me quicker. Was I really going to die here? Was my quest going to end in the jaws of my nightmares? There was no way out.

I silently fell to my knees.

I closed my eyes.

I prepared myself.

And I jumped forwards.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I opened my eyes. I could feel myself in a fetal position, being sucked down through a large, wet, squishy tube. I was cramped, sweaty, and uncomfortable, but I was alive! My plan had worked!

In the heat of the moment, I had come up with what I call an adrenaline idea. That's where I'm in trouble, and come up with the craziest thing off the top of my head that has even a remote chance of success. My adrenaline idea had been to jump into the thing's mouth, crouch up into a ball, and try to get into its throat while avoiding its teeth. I had been right when I had said there was no way out, so I found a way in.

But its esophagus was quickly carrying me down into its stomach. I didn't want to find out how long it would take me to reach that stomach acid, so I decided to get out fast.

My nails weren't very long or sharp, so I couldn't cut the thing from within. I tried beating on the esophagus walls with my fists. The thing coughed a little, but other than that no effect. I was going to have to climb up the food pipe. I grabbed a great ball of the thick muscle in my hand. I pulled myself up a little, and then got another ball of muscle in my other hand. This thing had strong muscles carrying me down, but I was managing to go up a little bit at a time.

When I could see the roof of its mouth, I also saw its uvula dangling above me. It was a few feet too high for me to reach. I continued climbing up, slowly but surely getting closer to it. I could hear the thing growling, wondering why its food was slowly coming up.

I reached the roof of its mouth at last. After giving the uvula the hardest punch I could muster, I jumped out of its gaping mouth. Once out, I scampered next to its mouth and out of the way.

You can guess what happened next. Boy, I hit that uvula hard.

I quickly turned to look at the door Kagami had just been in. Beyond this door was a black void, an empty fall into nothingness. I knew that I couldn't outrun this thing in the maze.

Then I got another idea. If I couldn't go left or right, I could go up. The hole-covered ceiling was way too high for me to reach, but this thing's head practically brushed up against it when it was standing up. Speaking of which, it would be standing up soon.

I took a few steps back, took a deep breath and started running. I jumped as high as I could, driving my feet into its head. It roared in anger and stood up, taking me with it. I could feel myself losing my balance with the surprising speed of its movements. My hands shot out and grabbed what was nearest to them – namely, one of its many squirming tentacles. I ground my fingers deep into it and gained a firm grip, despite its efforts to shake me off.

It raised its head and shook itself violently like a dog trying to shake drops of water off its body. I didn't know how much longer I would be able to hold on.

It stood up, tall and mighty, and continued shaking. I frantically searched around for the nearest hole in the wall. I saw it and waited for the thing to stop shaking. I could make it if I jumped far enough. If I missed, then it was going to be a long fall down.

Finally, the thing stopped moving for a second. It was charging up a great big shake to throw me off. This was the only chance I could afford to wait for. I released the tentacle from my grasp and readied myself. As the thing prepared to shake, I jumped. I felt myself suspended in air, flying towards freedom.

I grabbed the edge of the hole with the tips of my fingers. I scrambled to pull myself up. I didn't manage to get a good grasp from my jump. It could just pluck me off like a fly given my current position. I swung my leg up to the edge, but my foot missed the surface and continued to dangle. I looked at the thing.

It was directly in front of me, ready to chomp me into bits.

I summoned all the strength I had and pulled myself up in one swift movement. There was nothing on this roof that could pose as a threat to me, but I didn't register anything beyond that. I limped a safe distance away from the hole the thing was under and found a patch of roof free of holes.

I then collapsed on the roof and closed my eyes, completely exhausted and unable to do any more right then. I heard the thing give the biggest roar of anger it had made since I had first seen it, and afterwards it remained silent.

Adrenaline's a great thing, but the aftereffects are always a pain.

I don't know how long I stayed that way. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had to finish my business in The Abyss soon, I would have completely shut down for a while. But as I opened my eyes, I found that I wasn't exhausted in the slightest. Well, I sure wasn't going to question it.

The roof I was on was made of concrete. Not much special there. I looked to the left and then the right. The ground was barren all outside of the maze, and not so much as a single wind stirred the orange sands. It seemed like the maze was levitating above this wasteland, but I was on top of it and couldn't be sure. The ground was too far down to jump to, anyways.

In front of me, the concrete from the maze's roof stretched on forever, to the left, right, and forwards. This never ending room seemed to start at the point beyond that endless void in the door below me. Behind me, there was nothing special. Just a path from the start to the finish. I must have skipped all the dead ends. Was that really coincidence? Or was there something more within me?

I looked above me. What I saw is hard to explain, but it was like there were two layers of contrast in the sky. The bottom layer was a bright, warm light. But the top layer was a dark, oppressive night sky. There was no sun outside so I didn't have to worry about the sun getting in my eyes; the bright light wasn't bright enough to blind me. But as I looked into the horizon, this contrast became more apparent as the sky drew on and out of sight. The diagonal view made it easier to spot the difference.

Looking up like that, I realized something. The sky was just a metaphor for which side I was currently on. Kagami had warned me to leave the truth alone. Whether she really wanted to protect me from danger or deceive me, danger and obscured truths could both be classified as being hidden "in the dark". But I wasn't there yet; I was only working my way towards the truth.

I got another gut feeling right then. I knew that I would have to get to the darker side of this place, but I also knew that I couldn't do so physically. With this in mind, the only way I could do it was mentally. I know it doesn't make sense, but that was what I felt.

I sat down right where I was at. I assumed my meditation pose and closed my eyes. The subconscious mind is much more logical, factual, and analytical than the conscious mind. For this reason, I decided to leave this task for my subconscious mind to handle.

It hardly took any time for me to still my thoughts this time. As I sat there, I began to feel like I was floating in place above my physical body. But it didn't scare me. Instead, this actually felt… right. Despite my situation, I was starting to feel peace wash over me.

Next, I experienced another feeling. Rather than just floating above my body, I felt myself keep going up. As I did so, my feelings of peace began to slowly but surely dissipate. It started out gradually, but quickly gained speed. I sensed danger, though none was in the area.

Suddenly I felt a tremendous change. My peace was entirely gone and was replaced with tremendous anxiety in a second. It felt like I was descending now, only I wasn't going down to my original position. The further down I went, the more my feelings of negativity increased. It was like I was going down in a new direction.

I felt myself on the ground, my awareness returning to the physical. It felt like my body was reconstructing in this new location. As soon as I felt myself whole again, I shot my eyes open.

Well, things were certainly different.

The orange sands that surrounded the maze had been replaced with a great grey sea trapped in a hurricane. There was thunder and lightning in the distance. Above me, the sky was a dark and oppressive night sky. Above that was the bright layer that I had just been in. The roof was now weathered beyond imagination, but other than that the roof was the only thing as it had been before.

I walked to the nearest hole and looked down into it. It was a short drop, maybe six feet or so, as opposed to the previous fourteen. I jumped down onto the ground. The ground flexed under my weight and bent down like it was made of elastic. It bounced up and down for a little bit, restoring itself to equilibrium.

I took a look around me. I was in the same maze as before, only these walls were pitch black with glowing crimson streaks scattered across them. The floor was easily malleable and the walls looked like they were too. All around me, I heard a soft hissing noise coming from all directions. It felt like the entire place itself wanted to kill me.

I looked towards the door with the void beyond it. It was closed. I made my way towards it, the hissing noise slowly getting louder as I approached it. I closed my eyes, turned the knob, and went inside. I opened my eyes.

I was once again in my old room.

The silence hung in the air. The ceiling fan spun above my head. The walls were the same, the floor was the same, the computer on the desk in the corner… the full moon was shining outside my window, and the moonlight illuminated the room.

And lying on my bed, her skin as pale and white as porcelain, was the silent and unmoving body of Konata Izumi.

She was lying face up. Her eyes were closed as though she were sleeping peacefully. Her fingers were clasped and resting on her chest. She was in her casual clothes she – I - would always love to wear on Saturdays. There was a single bloody tear that had fallen from her eye and down her cheek.

Next to her on the floor was an empty picture frame, broken into a thousand shards of crystal.

It felt like I should have felt sad, but I didn't. Oddly, it felt as though this was what I had been trying to do since the dream blurs started. I was kind of sad, but I felt strangely indifferent.

All of a sudden, I felt something in my pocket. It felt like electromagnetic pulses were emanating from my pocket. I took the watch out and held it in my hands. This was it. I could feel the truth residing in the watch. I slowly opened it and read the inscription aloud.

"When a man lies, he murders some part of the world."

No sooner had I said these words, and then a brilliant indigo laser shot out of the pocket watch and into the center of my brain. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I was understanding more and more as I held this pose. There were two versions of the same world; the Abyss was between them, a part of both…

I saw the truth. I suddenly understood everything.

The clock's hands struck twelve.

I placed the pocket watch in my pocket and walked over to the window. I opened it and jumped down the two-story fall. The world was tinted here like in the dream blurs, only this tint was neither blue nor red. It was a monotonous black and white. I walked forwards, my house behind me, nothing but fields of grass around me. Under the invitation of a crazed moon, I went forwards.

I soon came to a figure standing alone in the distance, facing me. The figure's face was obscured by the grey tint of the world. She had two long pigtails and an all-too-familiar machete in her hand. As I advanced towards her, color began to fill the world. The grass began to show a little color, but the sky was completely black save for the full moon so I couldn't make much out. Kagami's pigtails gradually turned to their usual purple. Color had soon filled everything.

I lifted my arm and pointed directly at her.

"Kagami, I know the truth. I know what you are. I'm not afraid of you anymore."

After four long days of deception, after four long days of sorrow, I was finally prepared to face my nightmares.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Kagami had a look of pure shock on her face. I don't think she could believe what she was hearing. I lowered my arm to my side.

"I'll say it again. I know the truth now."

I took a deep breath and said it.

"You're a figment of my imagination."

I looked her in the eyes. She looked back at me, her eyes wide with fear. Then, as was expected, they began overflowing with tears.

"Kagami, I won't just hug you and say it's alright. You've gone way past the line."

She didn't say anything. She only looked down and continued crying.

"I created you to combat the negativity that I was exposed to every day. To be more precise, I guess I technically made you right after mom died. You were just nestled in my subconscious, resting, acting as that voice that said that she was in a better place every now and then.

"But it was only after I moved in with Ayako that you really started to come to life. Surrounded by sadness, my negativity went over the top. I started to move on to Phase Two: namely, making a nice dream which would give me peace of mind and let me rest, if only for one night. I gave you a personality and a name. I made a story with no plot; a carefree life doesn't need hassles like that. I had this dream, which spanned the course of an entire high school life, in only one night.

"I had a different life, a life without worries. I had a great group of friends. I can't even describe it in words. It was great, Kagami. It really was. You were my Lucky Star.

"But luck always runs out, and my Lucky Star fell from the sky.

"I had so much fun in my dream, that I subconsciously gave you more awareness as the dream progressed. I made you more than just a tool. I gave you too much power, too much knowledge. You were made to make me happy, under the assumption that you would be erased after the first dream.

"However, this was not the case. Though you were still in my conscious mind, as would be natural, faint traces of you also remained in my subconscious mind after the dream was over. You were still in subliminal existence, so you tried to fulfill your goal of making me happy. But you were all in my head. How could you possibly change my conscious state?

"You decided to manifest yourself as a figment. This happened when I was idly sketching random lines on my paper in school. You used my relatively idle state of thought to make contact with the subconscious and slip that little program in there. Once I saw what I had drawn, that triggered a chain reaction in my conscious mind. My brain sensed that something wasn't right, so it started sorting things out in an effort to find out what was wrong.

"In this chaotic state, certain parts of my mind were vulnerable to your control for a few seconds. You decided to take over the way my brain interpreted what my five senses were picking up on. You created the dream blurs this way. As such, I was totally immersed in my subconscious, which you shaped into the form of my dreams. You were still weak, though, so the dream blur ended quickly.

"When I went to your house, though, that ended. That was where you had 'attached' yourself from within my mind. When I saw the house, it served to stimulate your activity. With your memory imprinted in that house, you would gain even more power when I perceived it. You even managed to lock me inside and manifest an entire Abyss out of the very pain that spawned you. You wanted to use that to convince me to stay in your world. You didn't hold back, either."

Kagami said nothing. She still couldn't look at me.

"When my mind fell asleep in The Abyss, I was still in your domain. Of course you could manifest another dream of Konata for me right then. In this dream, I had very little power. You had succeeded. I had thought that Kurokona was the dream, and I was back in my happy 'reality'.

"You would have won if you could only erase my memories. But you couldn't. I remembered Kurokona, and I couldn't stop thinking about it because I knew something wasn't right. When I asked you about it, you tried to act casual and avoid suspicion. So when I got close to that pocket watch, you just settled for making another dream blur. I made the watch to symbolize truth, but the truth doesn't have room for you.

"By the time I had gotten home, your previous dream blur had exhausted you. You held out until I was asleep, and then you receded into my subconscious again. Your key timing had me confused on what was real and who was the dream.

"The Abyss was only in a mental plane of existence, so of course I didn't wake up there physically. When I woke up as Kurokona, you were still recharging deep in my brain. I wasn't sure if I wanted to find the truth or not then, so you took that as a sign that you were succeeding.

"At your house, you came out again to manifest the windows and doorknob being gone. You were steadily gaining more power. When I went back to Ayako's, you really put everything you had into that little intimidation scene. The bloody mirror with the altered reflection was a nice touch, too."

Kagami flinched after I said this. Her intentions were good, but they had backfired and she knew it.

"But you pushed yourself before you were well rested, and had exhausted yourself again. Miyuki represented the part of me that yearned for the truth. In my first dream, you had completely erased Miyuki and passed it off as a sick day. But you didn't have that much power the next time around. So instead, you hoped that I would buy it if you said she had moved. You lost that gamble, I met up with her, and I learned that I needed to control my mind. That dream I had a while ago as Konata when I first made Kurokona? Miyuki – the truth seeker – was right. You made that memory up to throw me off.

"I learned that I had to clear my mind to reach deeper into the subconscious. Konata's world was, at its roots, my dream anyway. It was a given that I could manipulate it by controlling my mind. I got the pocket watch, better known as the truth, in my possession and met up with you. Before I even reached the station, you sensed that I consciously suspected you. You were really in tune with my mind right then. So, rather than do what you had done early on and try to deceive me into thinking that I preferred the dream world, you decided to continue using intimidation to strike fear into me.

"You blew up a train, you threw me into a void, you ran me over with said train… but it still wasn't enough. You were pushing your power to the limits, but you still couldn't break my defenses. When I woke up on the train, we left thinking that we had successfully deceived one another. You left thinking that I was in the know, but too scared to fight back. I thought I had escaped and convinced you that I was clueless. A dream within a dream? As if.

"I went to sleep once more, and we charged up simultaneously. When my alarm sounded at eleven, things really started to heat up.

"I meditated with the truth in my possession. You set up a barrier to try to keep me from learning anything. All I could break through was the fact that the truth would surface after I endured the torments of The Abyss. From there, I was in your domain. You slaughtered Yutaka, the most innocent of all, as a way to say that you were done holding back. You made that giant thing that ate me, but you didn't expect me to get any farther than that.

"But I did. I surpassed your impossible odds and made it on top of the maze. I looked up, and saw the bright and dark layers of sky. I instantly understood that I would have to get to the black core of The Abyss. Once I had done so, I made it to the last room. I had reached enlightenment, and in the process I had killed Konata. That part of me was dead."

Kagami choked up a little here, but tried to regain her composure. It wasn't working.

"I had shattered my life of bliss. I was certainly going to collect my prize. Once I had proven myself dedicated to the truth, my subconscious mind opened me to understanding. Then I climbed out of The Abyss, out here into this plane of nonexistence where you have resided all this time. Out into this little island in Nowhere where I fully intend to eliminate you."

The silence hung in the air as it had done so many times. She could see that I wasn't joking. After a moment, she lifted her machete. Her voice remained steady.

"Fine. I was only trying to make you happy… but if that's not what you want, I understand. But before you come at me, know this. That world is filled with nothing but pain and misery. Pain and misery that I don't want you to feel. I'm only offering you an alternative. If you won't take it, then I'll have to kill you to end your suffering here."

Neither of us wanted to do this, but there was no other choice. Neither of us was going to stand down for this one. Even if she was a figment, she could still manifest the feeling of pain as she attacked me. Once I had lost consciousness from enough artificial pain, she would just have to access the weakened subconscious and shut everything down.

There was no more pulling punches. This was a fight to the death.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Kagami's hair flew up like it had done so on the train, only this time it combusted in a great ball of orange fire. When the blinding light faded, I saw that she was floating and her machete was gone. Instead of sparks like last time, full blasts of lightning were shooting out of Kagami's hair tips. She charged a ball of dark matter and hurled it at me.

I jumped out of the way and looked back at her. She was already directly in front of me. As she lifted her arm above her head to attack, I leaned down and kicked her directly in the stomach.

She didn't even flinch. Instead, she grabbed my leg, spun me around in circles a few times, and threw me about fifty yards away. I landed face first on the ground, and when I looked up she was once again directly over me. She charged another ball of dark matter and threw it into my back.

My body was overloaded with pain. I clenched my teeth and shut my eyes. I felt another blast hit me. I heard Kagami's voice.

"You see? You see why I told you to stop chasing answers?"

She hit me with another shot of energy. I shouted in agony, feeling the blood pouring down my back.

"I was only trying to prevent this! You could have died, or you could have escaped! Why didn't you just trust me!"

Another ball of energy flew into me. My vision was fading. Death wasn't far off. What could I do?

"Find peace in death if you won't take it from anywhere else!"

I opened my eyes and looked at Kagami. She charged the final blow.

In that instant, something in my mind snapped open.

As Kagami threw the ball, I imagined a great shield of matter protecting me. My matter had a colorful spectrum on it, and when the dark matter flew into it, the two merged for a few seconds. Then the energy, both hers and mine, shot back and hit Kagami in the chest. She flew back.

I pictured my wounds closing, and within seconds my body was completely healed. I was free of pain and fatigue. I stood up, my body radiating this colorful energy. All the colors of the rainbow were flowing through this energy mass, each color changing to another and gracefully swapping positions all at once. The only color that was never included was black.

Kagami stood up and shouted in fury. The field we were in began to disintegrate, as though it were paint specks being simultaneously scraped off a wall. Beyond this setting was a new setting, an all-too familiar setting.

We were on Ryouou's school stage. The same stage where I had danced as Konata on my last day in the dream. With all of my friends. With Kagami.

A spotlight shone down on us. This wasn't over yet.

I shot a ball of energy of my own towards Kagami. She dodged to the left, so I extended the energy she dodged out like a spear and swung at her. She ducked and charged at me. As she tried to hit me with her dark matter, I jumped up. In that moment, I charged my hand with rainbow energy and punched her in the head. She fell on her back.

I charged my foot and stomped on the ground, sending the energy pulsating towards her. She rolled out of the way.

"Konata, don't you miss your old life?"

She summoned her dark matter beneath my feet. I jumped back in time to see a column of dark matter flowing up from the ground where I had just stood.

"You know I'm not Konata."

"But I know that you had fun while you were. In fact, I'd say you had the time of your life."

She charged at me, her hands fueled with dark matter. As she punched me, I charged my hands and intercepted her blows. We both stood there, fighting for power. I finally overwhelmed her and sent her back. She tumbled offstage. I jumped down and charge-punched her in the face.

Once I had done so, the world began disintegrating as it had done the first time. We were yet again in another setting.

The Void.

We could see each other clearly, even though there was no light here. There was no gravity this time. There was also no visible floor, but we weren't falling. Just continued fighting.

I charged my punch again, but Kagami knocked me off of her before I could hit her. She was noticeably weaker now, but still potentially deadly.

Kagami screamed in rage once more. Her entire body began to radiate dark matter. Within seconds, she was completely consumed by a bubble of dark energy. This bubble started growing smaller around her, until it made her only a silhouette.

She shot a blast of dark energy at me. I deflected it with a rainbow shield, and they both shot back at her. She jumped over it and ran towards me. She tried to punch me, but I ducked and kicked her. Once I had done so, I looked at Kagami.

She had once again grabbed hold of my leg. She spun me around again, only this time I was ready. I shot energy out of my legs like a laser and directly into Kagami's face.

She let go and held her face in agony. When she took her hands off, I saw that her face was no longer a silhouette. In this moment of her weakness, I shot another blast at her.

My attack hit her in the torso, and light radiated off of her. Now the only part of her that was pitch black was her hair. She fell to her knees in pain. This was my only chance.

I pulled the watch from my pocket and held it to her face. I could see the fear in her eyes.

"No!" she shouted.

In that instant, a bright white light emanated from the watch and covered everything. When the light faded, I saw that we were back in the field we had started in. No longer did either of us radiate energies. She was still on her knees, weak and defeated. She looked up at me. She coughed, and then she spoke.

"Ugh… well… I guess you win…"

I didn't say anything. She coughed some more and continued.

"But you know… I was only trying to help you… because you're my friend. Maybe I'm not your friend anymore… but I still care about you…"

She started crying once more.

"I really do! Ugh… I know that I put you through hell, time and time again… but I only did it because I wanted the best for you! So what happened?"

Tears were silently streaming down my face at this point.

"What happened to all of our good times? Our good memories, our Saturday afternoon laughs… Where did they all go!"

Even then, looking at her, I knew that Kagami was my best friend. My best friend, who hadn't even been real to begin with. My best friend, who I now had to rip out of my life because she had tried to kill me. I felt like I really would be happier dead right then. But I knew I wouldn't think like that later. I had to go through with this.

But she was right. We had shared so many happy memories together. Where did they all go? How was I supposed to answer that? Was I supposed to say something poetic? Nothing came to mind. I had no answer for that one simple question. I wished I knew the answer myself.

"Kagami…"

She looked up at me through the tears.

"You went way out of line. This is my brain, not yours. Maybe you did have noble intentions, but trying to kill me was going too far."

She couldn't look me in the eyes any longer. She only looked at the ground, waiting for me to get it over with already.

"But you know…"

I knelt down and hugged her.

"Even if I have to do this, you're still my best friend no matter what."

She gasped and remained silent. After the shock passed, she started crying. She cried like I've never heard her cry. She just sat there, crying on my shoulder. I was crying, too. Maybe she was a piece of my imagination, but she had human emotions. She could feel sad, too.

Right then, I seriously debated on whether or not to let her stay. Sure, she was too extreme, but we could fix that. Couldn't we? If we both cooperated, surely we could do anything. We could all live happy, and sure we'd have some sad times but we'd help each other through them. Isn't that how it always works? Couldn't I have a happy ending at least once in my life, when it matters the most? Couldn't I keep at least a little bit of happiness with me, even when Ayako cussed me out and kicked me out?

I knew that I could fantasize all I wanted, but it wouldn't change anything.

The fact of the matter was Kagami couldn't stay. She was programmed to bring me happiness at all costs, at first under the assumption that any extreme behavior would be limited to my dreams. She could put me in a different state of mind and make me kill Ayako, and then drive me into blissful insanity once I was arrested. The desire for happiness is what made her. If I changed that to make it less intense, then I would be changing the basis of her existence. It would be impossible for me to keep this Kagami. The closest thing I could do was to make another Kagami, and make her less intense from the start. But after this whole ordeal, my brain would never make something like her again.

My best friend was too extreme to live in this world, and it was all her programmer's fault.

I couldn't take it any longer. I took the pocket watch and touched it to Kagami's forehead. It sank into her head, and in a flash of purple light they both disappeared. I was alone.

I fell to my knees and sobbed.


	29. Epilogue

Epilogue

I don't know how long I stayed down there. I just sat there, crying for what felt like hours on end. When I got up, I looked around and found that I was inside the abandoned house's basement. The night sky was still outside, pale moonlight streaming through the window. Yutaka's body was nowhere to be found, and neither was the hole to the Abyss. I picked up the flashlight I had thrown on the ground and turned it on.

I unlocked the deadbolt and climbed out the window, closing it behind me. I walked to my house under the stars, melancholy clouding my mind. When I got back I quietly opened the door and snuck up to my room. Ayako was still snoring in her room.

My alarm clock said it was one o'clock in the morning. It was Monday, and in five hours I would be on my way to being harassed by my peers at school once more, coming home to Ayako's loud mouth, doing my homework, eating Ayako's food that she gave to me because she was legally obliged to do so, reading manga, and going to sleep wishing I would never wake up.

I lay down on my bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas. I set my alarm clock for six, closed my eyes and tried to relax even though I wasn't tired. Maybe Kagami's world would have been more fun, but it wasn't real. This was the reality I was living in. There was no hope for true happiness. That's just the way some people's lives go.

Then I remembered. There was at least one thing that could put my mind at ease.

I sat down on my bed, crossed my legs, clasped my fingers, and closed my eyes. Spectacular images of my final encounter with Kagami were spinning through my mind, but I focused on my breathing. As the images left me, I noticed my breathing change. I wasn't consciously breathing anymore, but the breathing was happening by itself.

Soon the images were completely gone, and I had no thoughts. I only observed my thinned but comfortable breath. There, in that state of idleness, I found solace. I had no thoughts.

I lay down, slowly so as not to break my subtle state of mind. I remained thoughtless for about half an hour. Then, when I decided I was finished, I rolled over and went right to sleep.

I slept dreamlessly that night.


End file.
